Saint John floodwaters recede, clean-up almost complete, city says

The City of Saint John says that the floodwaters, which have affected parts of the city for the past three days, have now receded.

One of the hardest hit areas, the neighbourhood of Glen Falls, was the only area that still remained closed as of Sunday morning.

In a tweet, the city said that crews were working to clear the last of the ice and applying salt in the neighbourhood.

READ MORE: Flash flooding around Sussex, N.B. forces evacuations

Melting snow and ice, combined with heavy rains caused flooding overnight Thursday with Rothesay Avenue, Westmorland Road, McAllister Drive, and Redhead Road all affected by flooding.

Michael Hugenholtz, the commissioner of transportation and environmental services for Saint John, told Global News on Friday that the city’s stormwater system is designed to handle “one-in-five-year” type events, but that the system was strained during the winter.

“The ground is frozen so it doesn’t absorb as much of the water and secondly, a lot of our catch-basin systems can get iced up and covered so they’re not taking water,” he said.

“Rain in the winter months is certainly more challenging to deal with than what we’d see in the summer time.”

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WATCH: Saint John neighbourhood pulls together as water rises

2:04 Saint John neighbourhood pulls together as water rises

Sussex, N.B., which is 45 minutes north-east of Saint John, was even harder hit. Flash flooding caused 38 people from 27 households to be evacuated from the town on Thursday.

On Saturday, The Canadian Red Cross said that 25 people had returned to their homes in Sussex.

The rest were being fed and housed by the organization.

— With files from Silas Brown