Flood Details - 1950-12-11 - 1950-12-15

Fredericton Area: In Fredericton, cellar flooding occurred. The basements of the Capital Garage and Armories were flooded to a depth of one foot. The Regent Street wharf was completely under water. Some minor washouts occurred on the gravel roads throughout the City. Restigouche River Basin: Tidal upheavals occurred along the Gaspé Coast. Roads and bridges were washed out. Those along Wyers Brook had been washed out three times in the past several weeks. Some cellars in the district were also flooded. Southeastern New Brunswick: In Albert County, dykes were reported to have broken at Germantown, between Albert and Alma, resulting in the flooding of large areas of marshland. Dykes were also reported to have broken at Hopewell Hill where heavy flooding occurred near the community railway station. Railway tracks on the Albert County Branch Line were reported to be flooded at every high tide with a significant loss of ballast. Petitcodiac River Basin: In Moncton, the dykes along Halls Creek collapsed on December 11, resulting in the flooding of numerous homes in the Lewisville area. Seventeen families were evacuated. The floodwaters were reported to have surged through the area, quickly enveloping many of the dwellings and pushing some buildings off their foundations. One house was moved 300 yards [270m] by the flood. Some families were rescued from their flooded homes after the fast-rising water inundated the connecting roads. Residents of the St. Anselme and Fox Creek areas reported that several breaks occurred in the nearby dykes, but that a new aboiteau was holding against the high tides. Marshland on the east side of the Petitcodiac River below Moncton was reported to be flooded with some haystacks lost, but no serious damages occurred. Memramcook River Basin: For a period of time, the high water levels threatened the covered bridge at Upper Dorchester. Tantramar River Basin: In Sackville, the flooding was concentrated near the C.N.R. Station on Lorne Street. The dyke opposite the station had been broken in three places, and an aboiteau was washed out. The pumping station on Lorne Street was described as "working day and night" as a result of the floodwaters entering the town¿s sewerage system. East of Sackville, the C.B.C. International shortwave transmission site was inundated to the level of the concrete abutments of the transmitter poles. However, the equipment was not affected. The Sackville-Amherst highway was inundated at several locations. The floodwaters had reached the abutments of the highway and railway bridges on the Tantramar Marshes. St. Croix River Basin: In the St. Croix River Basin, homes were flooded and rail services were disrupted. Four families were forced to evacuate their home in Milltown, New Brunswick, as water crept over the main floors. The rail line to the cotton mill was inundated and the Milltown Lumber Company ceased operations when their buildings and yards became inundated. A rail washout occurred at Honeydale. The telephone company building was flooded disrupting service in the area. At St. Stephen, business and residences experienced flooded basements when the storm sewers backed up, creating a loss of stock and possessions.

Heavy rain, high tides, and wind.

Fredericton Area: At the Dominion Experimental Station, Fredericton, 1.64 inches [41.7mm] of rain was recorded bringing the total December rainfall, to date, up to 4.57 inches [116mm]. Since November, 12.94 inches [328.7mm] of rain plus seven inches [approx.18cm] of snow for a total precipitation of 13.64 inches [346.5mm] was recorded at the Experimental Station. A new fall record was set when the river reached 18 feet above low summer level at Fredericton. St. Croix River Basin: At the St. Croix Pulp Mill, Woodlands, rainfall for the month of November was in the order of 12 inches [305mm], and already during the month of December, over six inches [approx. 182mm] of rain had fallen. The flow at the Grand Falls Dam, Woodlands, was in the order of 19 000 or 20 000 cfs [538m3/s or 566m3/s]. This was the highest recorded since 1923 when the discharge was about 23 000 cfs [650m3/s].

Damages resulted in work and service stoppages in several areas. Tantramar River Basin: In Sackville, the damage was centered around the area at the C.N.R. Station. The cost of repairing the aboiteau was estimated to be between $2 000 and $3 000. St. Croix River Basin: The Ganong Brothers plant, St. Stephen, lost about four tons of cardboard and two tons of book paper.