Officials warn New Brunswick residents of potential flooding from rainfall

Officials with New Brunswick’s Emergency Measures Organization are warning residents to be prepared for potential flooding on Tuesday night.

Rainfall is expected to continue in parts of the province into the overnight hours.

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“With weather like this you get a lot of water. The ground right now does not have a lot of ability to absorb that water, so it’s got to have some place to go,” EMO spokesperson Paul Bradley said.

He said mild temperatures and snow melt could lead to localized flooding.

In Saint John, people who were shoveling snow at this time last year are shoveling slush and plowing water. Schools were closed and some roads looked like mini-rivers as catch basins were unable to drain away the high volume of water.

In Fredericton, police said there were many accidents on ice-packed roads.

The drastic change from last winter has prompted emergency officials to issue a warning.

“If you can do anything to mitigate possible water buildup around your house, make sure water is getting away from it,” Bradley said.

He added that some rivers and streams are not frozen this year as they typically would be.

“Places where there is still ice, it’s unstable and we are saying now that it’s not stable enough to be on,” he said. “So we are asking people to stay off it and to stay away from the waterways as well.”