Flood Details - 1992-07-27 - 1992-07-27

Upper Saint John River Basin: An intense rainstorm resulted in severe flooding in the Edmundston, Baker Brook and Saint-Jacques areas, with the most severe damage occurring in the latter two locations. The flash flooding resulted in many road washouts, damaged bridges and flooded basements. Mudflows and a small landslide were reported to have occurred. At Baker Brook, two heavy downpours occurred between 18:00 and 19:00 hours, producing a very high runoff. The swollen Zéphirin Brook caused extensive damage near the Guérette mill of Raoul Couturier Lumber. The damage forced the mill to cease operations for up to one month, and Route 120 was severed by a washout about 25 feet wide next to the mill. The C.N.R. railway line was also damaged. Also, a potable water pumping station sustained damage to pipes and an electrical transformer when Zéphirin Brook changed its course, as a result of the rainstorm. Route 205 was also damaged from the flooding in the vicinity of Connors and Saint-François-de-Madawaska. At Saint Jacques, a washout completely severed Rue de la Montagne and about 100 homes were flooded, some due to sewer backup. Some damage occurred near the Saint Jacques bridge, as well as on Industrielle Street and Rivière à la Truite Road. A large amount of mud and debris was carried by the runoff onto the St-Onge property, near the edge of the Village of Saint Jacques. At Saint-Joseph-de-Madawaska, about ten homes were flooded on Lagacé Road. At the Mont-Farlagne ski hill, flooding damaged the snow-making equipment. The northern and western sections of Edmundston were flooded, particularly on Belisle and Bossé streets. The heavy runoff was reported to have exceeded the capacity of the storm drainage system and contributed to basement flooding in these areas. In the western section, near Nadeau and Proulx streets, a small landslide occurred. Recent logging activities were reported to have contributed to the severity of the runoff and erosion.

At Boucher, about four kilometres north of Edmundston, the Department of Natural Resources and Energy reported that 87.2 millimetres of rain fell on the night of July 27. At St. Leonard, only 10.4 millimetres of rainfall were recorded at the airport. Over four inches [100 mm] of rain were reported to have fallen at Saint Jacques.

The New Brunswick Department of Transportation estimated the July 27 flood resulted in $236 000 damage to the highways in Madawaska County. The Lagace Road, Lac-Unique Road, Route 120 and Route 205 sustained heavy damage, particularly in the Saint-Jacques and Baker Brook areas. Another flood occurred on August 4, 1992, [eight days later] in the same region. Estimates of the total damages resulting from both floods are given in the information for the August 4, 1992 flood.