Flood Details - 1933-05-04 - 1933-05-06

Saint John River Basin: Flood conditions on the Saint John River existed at Fort Kent, Edmundston, Hartland and Woodstock. High flows were recorded in the upper portion of the Saint John River Basin. Significant damage occurred at Fort Kent, Maine, to businesses and residences. This damage was due to flooded basements and many homes were temporarily abandoned. On the Edmundston Sub-division of the C.N.R., rail traffic was halted due to flooded railway tracks. A section of track was undermined near Edmundston, causing a freight train to be derailed. The main highway at Green River was covered with several feet of water. At Hartland, the lower flats were badly inundated, surrounding a home and several outbuildings. The mill was closed when it became inundated. At Woodstock, the road to Island Park was inundated. The Keswick River placed roads under two feet [0.6 m] of water in various areas. The islands above Fredericton were inundated. Some highways in York and Sunbury counties were inundated. The Oromocto Flats were inundated and a ferry was operating over the highway. The Maugerville-Sheffield highway was also inundated as well as the highway from McGowan's Corner to Lakeville Corner. The interval at Gagetown was flooded. At Indiantown, several warehouses and sheds were inundated. Some residents of Bridge Street, River Street and Spar Cove Road were isolated. On Main Street, a store was completely surrounded by water. Restigouche River Basin: In the Restigouche River Basin, high water caused considerable damage to the I.N.R. tracks. Trains were tied up by a weakened bridge near Millerville. The rivers and brooks near Campbellton were reported as being very high. Summer homes along the banks of the Matapedia and Upsalquitch rivers were damaged. A C.N.R. line near St. Quentin was washed out.

Heavy rains and melting snow throughout New Brunswick and Eastern Quebec, and possibly ice jams.

At Fort Kent, Maine, the level was the highest reached in a 35 year period prior to May 1961. At Edmundston, the river reached its highest level for the 10 years following the 1923 flood. North of Grand Falls, the river was higher that anytime in the past 35 years. A new freshet level was set at Woodstock, which apparently was the highest since 1923. The maximum daily mean discharge at Pokiok was 223 000 cfs [6 314 m3/s], and at Fredericton the level was 21.9 feet [6.67 m], 19 feet [5.8 m] above summer low. This water level was the highest point since the freshet of 1927. A 27-foot [8.2 m] tide was recorded at Saint John. The water level at Indiantown was higher than any since 1929.

No monetary estimates of damage were reported in the newspapers. However, these casualties were recorded: An engineer with the railway lost his life when a train was engulfed by a break in a weakened culvert at Blue River (possibly in Eastern Quebec). Another life was lost when a stream driver fell into the turbulent waters of Tracey Brook near Kedgwick. A third life was lost in the derailment of the C.N.R. freight train near Edmundston due to undermined railway tracks.