Eastern N.B. faces treacherous weather

New Brunswick's Emergency Measures Organization is warning people in eastern New Brunswick not to drive Monday night if they don't have to.

A mixture of rain, snow and high winds is expected to make driving conditions treacherous.

EMO is also warning people who live along the coast between Port Elgin and the Bay of Chaleur to prepare for storm surges Tuesday and Wednesday.

Claude Côté of Environment Canada expects the magnitude of the storm surge will be similar to what hit Charlo a couple of weeks ago. That storm washed away as much as nine metres off some properties.

"We're looking at pretty much annual high tide," Côté said. "So this is the high tide of the year. And on top of that we have the weather elements that will be prone to enhance the water level. So we're looking also at strong winds that will produce what we call wind waves — white caps. So the overall water level will be significantly higher than what's predicted just from the moon cycle."

The bad weather comes even as communities are still cleaning up after the floods that battered the southwest region of the province last week.

Environment Canada has issued a weather warning for almost the entire province, with warnings of storm surges, wind, rain and snow issued, depending on the region.

There is a storm surge warning for the entire New Brunswick coast except the Bay of Fundy.

St. Stephen, which was one of the hardest-hit areas in last week's flooding, may see another 60 millimetres of rain by Tuesday evening.

The forecast is calling for northeast winds that could gust to 80 km/h in the town.

Environment Canada warns, "The resulting storm surge and rough and pounding surf along the coasts will combine with a run of high tides to give local flooding starting Tuesday afternoon or evening."

Côté said he doesn't believe the forecasted weather pattern will cause as much damage in southwestern New Brunswick as occurred last week.

"To maybe somewhat reassure people, last week's storm that caused significant flooding in the Charlotte County and greater Fredericton area, we had up to 105 millimetres of rain. So with this system we're not looking at the same type of precipitation amounts," Côté said.

St. Stephen received 174 millimetres of rain early last week.

Local MLA Rick Doucet said he is worried about the forecast that is calling for more rain.

"I'm just taking one day at a time here. We want to concentrate on getting things done and just hope to God this doesn't happen again," Doucet said.

Last week, many homes in southern and western New Brunswick were damaged in the flooding caused by heavy rains.

Karl Wilmot, an official with the provincial government's Emergency Measures Organization, said the St. John River should be able to cope with the upcoming rain and snow without causing more flooding.

"Flows are not going to exceed plant capacity at [NB Power's hydro dam at] Mactaquac," Wilmot said.

"So hopefully the situation is not going to change any on us. We're below flood stage all along the system."

Compensation questions

Now, the residents are trying to qualify for government funding to help them repair their property.

At a couple of weekend meetings in St. Stephen with provincial government officials, tempers flared at the delays in the process of getting compensation.

Government officials say assessments of the damage and how much repairs will cost must be done before the compensation process can begin.

Two private businesses, Cooke Aquaculture and J.D. Irving, have offered to pay for private insurance adjusters to speed up the process of getting the required work done so residents can qualify for disaster assistance.

Another problem is the approaching holidays, which means provincial government services may be shut down for several days.

Donations coming in

Many groups are raising funds to help families cope with the aftermath of the extreme weather.

The Town of St. George has set up a special disaster relief website listing where people in the southwestern community can drop off donations and what items are needed, such as bottled water.

The Canadian Red Cross is also accepting donations to help the relief efforts.

The TD Bank Group donated $10,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to support the residents in southwest New Brunswick and the Fredericton area.

TD requested the donation be used to help the recovery efforts and offer shelter and comfort stations for the people who fled their homes during the floods.

"The damage caused by the harsh weather has left the entire community struggling to recover," said Dan Culligan, district vice-president of TD Canada Trust, New Brunswick, in a statement.

"Our hope is that this donation, combined with the relief efforts of the Red Cross, will give residents the immediate support they need."