People are being urged to evacuate their homes as rising floodwaters threaten to surpass record-setting water levels in areas along New Brunswick’s Saint John River.
READ: N.B. officials urge people to evacuate their neighbourhoods as floodwaters rise
Premier Brian Gallant is urging residents to “take action,” saying water levels south of Fredericton are expected to rise over the coming days, exceeding record levels in 2008 and potentially topping all-time highs from 1973.
Gallant is also warning against complacency, saying people in a number of areas will see “what they haven’t seen before.”
He says he informed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the province will be seeking federal disaster assistance.
WATCH: Residents in Saint John are surveying the damage and doing everything they can to keep rising floodwaters out of their homes
Gallant says Trudeau offered the assistance of the Canadian Army if needed, but he says it’s felt there are enough resources available at this point to help New Brunswickers.
Emergency measures officials say flooding is expected to continue for at least the next five days according to the most recent data.
They warn residents along the southern regions of the Saint John River Basin should be “on high alert.”