Flood Details - 1940-09-17 - 1940-09-20

Northeastern New Brunswick: Near Bathurst, the high tides undermined several cottages at Youghall Beach. Miramichi River Basin: The storm caused considerable losses along the Miramichi River because of the high tides and wind. In Newcastle, the downtown area was inundated to the town square above Castle Street, resulting in losses to the merchants and residents. At the peak of the gale, trees were uprooted, small buildings on the waterfront were carried away, and lumber was floated off the wharves. Firemen were called to evacuate a family at the corner of Mitchell and Henry streets. Rowboats were visible on Castle Street as far as the Atlantic Wholesalers. The Strawberry Marsh was reported as being inundated, but the floodwaters did not affect the only home in the area. At Chatham, the waterfront areas were flooded almost as far up as Water Street. The Savoy house on Ferry Street was flooded to a depth that the residents were reported to be "in water up to their arm pits" before evacuating. The C.N.R. line was inundated and communication with outside points was disrupted as telephone and electrical wires were downed. The shore road to Loggieville was flooded along its full length, and a significant amount of roadbed was lost to erosion. The boat landing to Middle Island was inundated to a depth of several feet. The wharves at Burnt Church and Oak Point were damaged and several boats along the Escuminac shore were lost. Southeastern New Brunswick: At Buctouche, a highway bridge was carried out and at least one home was inundated to the first floor. At Cocagne, the main highway was damaged by the floodwaters. At Upper Cape and Baie Verte, up to 25 feet [7.6 m] of shoreline was eroded, and several cottages were damaged. Dykes in the area were also breached. Some basement flooding was reported to have occurred in the Moncton area. The high tides, lashed by winds, severed roads and railways in several other coastal areas. Power lines were down between Saint John and Moncton, Musquash and other centres.

A severe gale in eastern New Brunswick accompanied by heavy precipitation. The storm coincided with a full moon.

The storm was considered to be the worst "of this type" in many years. Southeastern New Brunswick: At Moncton, almost five inches of rain were reported to have fallen. Miramichi River Basin: In the Newcastle-Chatham area, the storm was described as being "unequalled since the Saxby Gale of 1869". A total of 3.15 inches [80 mm] of rain and winds as high as 80 miles per hour [approx. 130 kilometres per hour] were recorded at Chatham. The easterly gale was said "to have caused the tide to be 10 feet [3 m] above normal". A Capt. McLeod stated, "In my 35 years experience, I had never seen such waves as swept along the Miramichi that night." At Newcastle, in the vicinity of the North Leader office and the Eastern Hay and Seed Company, the water on Mitchell Street was about four feet [1.2 m] in depth. At Chatham, the water was reported to be two feet [0.6 m] above the railway tracks at the Ferry Street Crossing.

Miramichi River Basin: In the Miramichi area, damages were estimated as being well into the "hundreds of thousands of dollars". Most of the losses due to flooding were confined to Castle and Mitchell streets in Newcastle, and Water Street in Chatham. Damages occurred to residential homes, particularly on Mitchell Street where a number of cars were submerged in garages. At the North Shore Leader office on Castle Street, one and a half tons of newsprint were lost along with forty storm windows. Along the Chatham waterfront, the railway tracks in some places were reported to have shifted up to 15 feet [4.6 m], and there were many washouts. Many wood products were lost as stock was washed off wharves along the waterfront. British Canadian Pitwood Ltd. lost an estimated $27 000 worth off their wharf, and Robin Hood Flour sustained heavy losses as their warehouse, located on one of the Newcastle wharves, was flooded to a depth of one metre (three feet). The basement of the Atlantic Wholesalers on Mitchell Street was flooded, and all the labels were washed off the food cans stored in the basement. In Chatham, the pressroom in the basement of The Commercial and The World building was inundated to a depth of 4.6 feet [1.4 m], submerging the newspaper press and destroying thousands of sheets of newsprint. The damage to power lines was reported to be the heaviest in the history of the N.B. Electric Power Commission since its operations began in 1922. Southeastern New Brunswick: At Cape Bald, 50 lobster boats were sunk, and the lobster dealers in the area lost at least $1 500 worth of lobster from their pounds.