Government of New Brunswick
Matthews Settlement
Nictau
Plaster Rock
Riley Brook
Lincoln
Nashwaak Village
Penniac
Taymouth
Arbeau Settlement
Priceville
Stanley
Storeytown
Blackville
Durham Bridge
Curventon
Exmoor
Lyttleton
Pineville
Red Bank, Northumb
Renous
Sunny Corner
Upper Blackville
Brockway
Chipman
Doaktown
Gaspereau Forks
McAdam
Arthurette
Wapske
Newburg
Greenfield
Woodstock
St. George
Bartholomew
Porter Cove
Second Falls
St. Stephen
Heavy rain
$2,174,517.00

Affected Areas

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Because of the pattern of rainfall produced by the storm, serious flooding conditions occurred on the Nashwaak and Miramichi rivers. The low lying areas along the Saint John River downstream of Fredericton also were subjected to severe flooding conditions partially because a significant volume of water remained in this reach of the river as a result of snowmelt runoff flood two weeks earlier. Fairly severe flooding occurred in the Magaguadavic and St. Croix River basins. About 35 bridges were damaged or destroyed and thousands of dollars damage occurred to railway lines. In Carleton, Victoria and Madawaska counties, the damage was restricted to highways and farms. Rail service, telephones and electrical services were disrupted in several sections of the Province. Saint John River Basin: In the Upper Saint John River Basin, flooded basements and highways were inundated in Fort Kent area. In the Tobique River Valley, four small bridges were swept out between Plaster Rock and Nictau and two between Nictau and Riley Brook. The pumping station at Plaster Rock was flooded. The highway between Plaster Rock and Arthurette was closed because of flooding at Beveridge and Wapske. A bridge across Phillips Creek was swept away at Newburg Junction. In Woodstock, Water Street was inundated and closed to traffic. Lower Saint John River Basin: The swollen on Keswick River undermined the highway north of Barton. In Fredericton,the bridge across Phyllis Creek was washed out and army engineers were used to erect a temporary structure. In the Nashwaaksis area, basements were flooded and culverts were washed out along Heron Road and Royal Road. At least one railway washout occurred and the Stone Bridge was damaged. Rail lines along the Nashwaak River and in the Fredericton area were washed out. Severe damage occurred to buildings and farms from Marysville to Taymouth and numerous cottages were lost. Several small bridges in the Nashwaak Valley were lost as well as covered bridges at Penniac and Durham Bridge. The southern approach to the bridge at Taymouth was washed out. At Penniac, homes were isolated and livestock was lost. Near Nashwaak Village, 117 Boy Scouts were forced to break camp; camp gear and five vehicles were left behind. The Anglican Church at Durham Bridge was undermined. In the Stanley Flats area, five homes were evacuated and water was over the road in several places. About 175 residents of Lincoln Flats were isolated except for travel by boat. Near the head of the Salmon River, Chipman, booms broke and pulpwood was lost. Two bridges in the vicinity of Gaspereau Forks were swept away.In Kings County, rivers and streams overflowed their banks, but no serious damage was reported other than some minor washouts. Miramichi River Basin: Flooding occurred throughout the Miramichi River Basin. Rail lines and highways were inundated and/or washed out at several points. Several small bridges were destroyed. Telephone and electrical services were disrupted. Sawn lumber and pulpwood was carried away and fishermen lost salmon nets. A number of families were forced from their homes in the low lying areas. Cottages and camps were destroyed in several areas. Footbridges were swept away at Price, Arbeau and Keenan. Priceville was virtually isolated when a small covered bridge, linking Big Hole Brook and Storytown, was swept away. The approach to the bridge at Porters Cove was washed out. A wooden bridge at Bartholomew was also destroyed. Damages were reported from the communities of Blackville, Upper Blackville, Renous and Pineville on the Southwest Branch; Red Bank, Sunny Corner, Exmor and Curventon on the Northwest Branch, and Lyttleton and Mathews Settlement on the Little Southwest Miramichi. Families were evacuated at Greenfield, Renous, Sunny Corner, Blackville and Juniper. Sawmills were flooded at Doaktown, Blackville and Sunny Corner. A small dam on the Bartholomew River was washed out. Route 8 was inundated at Blackville and 2 000 feet [approx. 610m] of C.N.R. track was submerged at McNamee. Fishing camps and cottages along the Cains River and in the McNamee area were damaged and several were destroyed. Livestock all along the river was moved to higher ground, but 100 head of beef cattle were lost near Red Bank. A twenty-two year old man was drowned in swollen waters of the Bartibog River. Southwest Basins: Musquash River Basin: In the Musquash River Basin, a portion of the dam at West Musquash Reservoir was washed out. Magaguadavic River Basin: In the Magaguadavic River Basin, crops were ruined by the heavy rains and floodwaters. Dwellings were damaged, highways and rail lines were washed out at several places. The highway to Brockway was severed by floodwaters. Bonny River and Second Falls were virtually isolated when highways became inundated. Twelve families in this area were forced to evacuate their homes. At Lake Utopia, at least one-half of the summer cottages were either flooded or moved off their foundations. At St. George, telephone services were disrupted and the pulp mill closed because of high water. Homes were surrounded by water, basements flooded and three families were forced to leave their homes. St. Croix River Basin: In the St. Croix River Basin, bridges were closed because of damages at Milltown and Union Mills. About 50 feet [15m] of the international span at St. Stephen collapsed when a pier on the Canadian side was undermined. At Milltown, water surrounded homes on South and Water streets, forcing some families to evacuate their residences. Some highways in the area were impassable. At the Grand Falls Dam, 10 inches [approx. 250mm] of water was reported to be over the floor of the generating plant. The St. Croix Paper Company Mill reported that more than 100 000 cords of pulp were lost when a boom broke. In the McAdam area, many homes had flooded cellars and one store had water damage. A residence, at the rear of the store, had to be evacuated. About 128 Boy Scouts were forced to leave camp because of the flooding in this area. The C.P.R. cancelled trains from Saint John to McAdam, McAdam to Edmundston, Aroostook to Plaster Rock, Chipman to South Devon and Chipman to Norton. Power lines were out at Bocabec, Chamcook and Lindfield, as well as St. Stephen. Telephone service was disrupted at St. Stephen.
A severe extra-tropical storm caused rainfall of approximately four inches [102mm] over most of the Saint John River Basin below Grand Falls. Rainfall exceeded eight inches [203mm] on most of the Nashwaak River Basin and parts of the Oromocto River Basin. A rainfall of 3.4 inches [86mm] was recorded in the Newcastle-Chatham area with considerably heavier rainfall in the upriver areas. In the St. Stephen-Calais area, a total rainfall of 4.95 inches [126mm] was recorded. A secondary cause was the fact that this storm occurred only two weeks after spring runoff, when storage in reservoirs and natural lakes was at its maximum and when infiltration rates were low and channel storage high.
Saint John River Basin: The Tobique River was reported to be at its highest level since 1922. The Shikatehawk Stream at Bristol was said to be at its highest level in 15 years. The stage at Fredericton reached 24.3 feet [7.41m] in elevation, and the maximum daily mean flow at Pokiok was 249 000 cfs [7 051m3/s]. These are both slightly greater than those reached during the snowmelt flood two weeks earlier. At Oak Point, the stage was the fourth highest since 1923, exceeded only in 1934, 1936 and 1958. In Kings County, the streams were reported to have been higher than the annual spring freshet which was below normal this year. Miramichi River Basin: In the Miramichi River Basin, the flooding was the worst in the memories of the oldest living residents. The water level at Doaktown was reported to be two feet [0.6m] over the record set in 1923. At Blackville, floodwaters reached as high as the deck of the bridge across the Southwest Miramichi River. Southwestern New Brunswick: The floods in Charlotte County were said to be "the most serious since 1923". Magaguadavic River Basin: The freshet was the highest in eight years on the Magaguadavic and Bonny rivers. At the Elmcroft hydrometric station, a peak daily discharge of 657 cubic metres per second was recorded, the third highest on record [as of April 1989]. St. Croix River Basin: The flow at Grand Falls Dam, St. Croix River, was said to have been in the order of 20 000 cfs [566m3/s].
Newspaper reports carried estimates of the total damages high as seven million dollars in New Brunswick, with one and a half to two million dollars damage to roads and bridges, and another two million dollars to private property. However, on the basis of documented information, it appears that actual damages were probably considerably lower than this figure. The available information on damage to various sectors is summarized as follows: A. Damages to Private Property (reported by New Brunswick Disaster Fund) Saint John River Basin (excluding the Nashwaak and Tobique River Basins) $175 000 Nashwaak River Basin 110 000 Miramichi River Basin 90 000 Tobique River Basin 18 000 Other River Basins 6 500 TOTAL $399 500 B. Damages to Bridges (reported by New Brunswick Dept. of Public Works) Northumberland County $ 58 000 Kings County 15 000 York County 330 000 Carleton County 49 000 Charlotte County 84 000 Victoria County 20 000 Gloucester County 1 000 Queens County 18 000 Saint John County 6 000 TOTAL $581 000 C. Damages to Roads and Highways (reported by New Brunswick Dept. of Public Works) Northumberland County $ 7 446 Westmorland County 5 253 Saint John County 1 995 York County 481 123 Carleton County 59 554 Victoria County 16 985 Queens County 45 581 Kings County 7 803 Highway #8 248 737 Highway #9 156 491 TOTAL $1 115 301 D. Damages to Railway Tracks and Bridges (reported by Canadian Pacific Railway Company) Saint John River Basin below Fredericton (Brownville Division) (Woodstock Division) $171 611 000 Saint John River Basin above Fredericton excluding the Tobique and Keswick River Basins (Woodstock Division) 2 000 Tobique River Basin 5 000 Keswick River Basin 42 000 Digdequash River Basin 17 000 TOTAL $78 716 No information is available on losses by the C.N.R. However, newspapers reported a considerable washout of track in Carleton County, along the Nashwaak River and in the Miramichi River Basin. It is not unreasonable to assume that these losses were of the same order of magnitude as those of the C.P.R. E. Municipal Losses The only municipality in New Brunswick, which had reported damages during this flood was Fredericton. A city engineer's report from that City showed that repairs to streets and drains, damaged during the flood, cost approximately $30 000. Newspapers reported other municipal damages in Stanley and Marysville along the Nashwaak and in Woodstock's Island Park. An estimated $25 000 damage occurred to streets and roads in Fort Kent, Maine. F. Other Not included in the reported damages are costs of repair to telephone and power distribution facilities or to industrial and commercial property. Newspaper reports indicated considerable destruction of utility lines along the Nashwaak and Miramichi rivers and in the southwestern portion of the Province. Indirect damages from this flood were probably significant as well. Included in this category of damages would be such things as inconvenience due to closed transportation routes. Almost all the inter-urban trains and buses were cancelled during this flood and for a few days after. Utility disruptions probably resulted in some indirect damages. One life was lost when a 21 year old man drowned in the flood-swollen Bartibog River.