Flood Details - 2015-04-21 - 2015-05-04

River Watch 2015 began on March 16th. Quantities of water in the snowpack were at normal levels in the upper Saint John River basin and above normal in the lower Saint John River basin. On April 2nd, an advisory was issued due to a short period of warm temperatures across the province that was predicted to bring a mixture of rain and snow. Slight increases in water levels were forecast for some southern tributaries. A similar advisory was issued on April 10th as the result of a mix of mild weather and precipitation. On April 15th, after several days with unseasonably mild temperatures, River Watch issued a flood watch. River flows and water levels were forecast to increase throughout the Saint John River basin and the probability of ice movement along the Saint John River was likely. Ice jams were in place on the Tobique River near Gladwyn, and on the Saint John River near Saint Francis, Maine. Ice movement had already been occurring in several smaller rivers and tributaries and in the Saint John River below the Mactaquac Dam. Water levels on the Nashawaak, Saint John, and Nerepis Rivers had all reached flood watch stage, though no flooding had been reported. On April 19th, the municipality of Perth-Andover issued a state of local emergency and implemented a mandatory evacuation due to fears of flooding. Approximately 300 people were evacuated from the village, and the Hotel-Dieu of St. Joseph Hospital was forced to close. Twenty-three patients were affected - six were discharged and the rest were sent to either Victoria Glen Manor or the Upper River Valley Hospital. The Red Cross opened a temporary emergency shelter at the Perth-Andover Middle School – 54 people registered at the shelter and 11 spent one or both nights. Motel accommodations were arranged for 32 others due to mobility or health issues. The mandatory evacuation order remained in effect until April 20th, and the state of local emergency until April 22nd. Despite the state of emergency, Perth-Andover did not experience any severe flooding. Ice movement began in the Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska, Perth-Andover, Woodstock and Mactaquac areas on April 19th. Woodstock and Perth-Andover reached flood warning criteria. On April 21st, the province received an average of 12 millimeters of rain, while some areas such as Fredericton received up to 34 millimeters. Many more areas of the province reached the flood advisory and flood watch stages, including Saint-Léonard, Fredericton, Maugerville, Grand Lake, and Oak Point. On April 23rd, Fredericton and Jemseg exceeded the flood stage with water levels of 6.6 meters and 4.57 meters, respectively. The following day Fredericton receded to the warning level while Sheffield-Lakeville Corner exceeded the flood stage with a water level of 4.83 meters. On April 25th, Quispamsis-Saint John exceeded the flood stage with a water level of 4.22 meters and remained at that stage until April 27th. Sheffield-Lakeville Corner receded to the warning stage on May 1st, while Jemseg remained at the flood stage until the 4th. Ice jams caused some localized flooding on May 2nd in the Middle River area of Bathurst.

High water level (flood stage): Perth Andover: 78.50 m (77.2 m) Hartland: 46.69 m (45.7 m) Fredericton: 6.74 m (6.5 m) Jemseg: 4.99 m (4.3 m) Sheffield-Lakeville Corner: 5.02 m (4.8 m) Environment Canada rainfall totals for April 21st: Fredericton: 34.4 mm

More than 53 roads across the province were impacted by flooding; washout or water over the road. Several homeowners reported flooded basements. Flooding was minimal compared to other years because of seasonally average temperatures and lighter than usual snowfall amounts in northern Maine and northern New Brunswick.