Flood Details - 1961-05-08 - 1961-05-20

The most serious flooding conditions existed in the upper part of the Saint John River Basin, the Nashwaak Valley and the Miramichi River Basin where snow accumulations were the heaviest. In the Saint John River Basin, proceeding downstream, the relative magnitude of the flood gradually decreased as snow accumulation in the lower part of the basin was closer to normal. Saint John River Basin: At Fort Kent, Maine, damages were reported to have affected 35 homes, 65 commercial establishments and four public buildings. Water was reported as being about two to three feet [0.6m to 0.9m] deep on Main Street. Families had been evacuated from their homes. At Edmundston, No. 30 Ferry Street was completely surrounded by water and the occupants were forced to vacate their house for the fourth time since April 1958. At Fort Kent, Main Street was flooded to a depth of two feet to three feet [0.6m to 0.9m]. Two thousand cords of pulpwood escaped from a log boom at Upper Kent and were spread over the low lying area below Fredericton. Middle Saint John River Basin: Highway 2 was closed due to flooding between Florenceville and Hartland. At Hartland, families were evacuated from their homes. On Main Street, one house was totally isolated and the water lapped the rear of all remaining buildings on the street. At Woodstock, minor damage occurred at Island Park. Lower Saint John River Basin: In Fredericton, numerous cellars were flooded throughout the downtown area. A portion of Campbell Street was blocked by flood waters between Westmorland Street and the Legion Parking Lot. The C.N.R. underpass was inundated to a depth of more the 18 inches [0.46m] and Route 2 was submerged at Wilsey Road. In the Oromocto Valley, Highway 28 was submerged between Geary and Blissfield and between Blissfield and Welsford. A secondary highway was submerged at Rusagonis. In the Maugerville-Sheffield area, some families were evacuated. Highway communications were cut off in the Jemseg and the Maugerville-Sheffield areas and some washouts occurred along the Trans Canada Highway in this area. In the Maugerville area, at least a dozen homes and some barns were flooded. Several greenhouses were flooded causing a great loss of seedlings.

On the Allagash and Fish rivers and on the Saint John River at Fort Kent, the highest levels in 30 years were recorded. At Pokiok, the maximum daily mean discharge was 241 000 cfs [6 824m3/s], and the stage at Fredericton reached a peak elevation of about 23.9 feet [7.29m] on May 16.

Estimates of overall damage were reported in newspapers to be as high as one million dollars. A report of the U.S. Corps of Engineers states that damages at Fort Kent were estimated at $350 000.