Florenceville-Bristol home nears collapse after Arthur

A Florenceville-Bristol family is looking for help after most of the bank behind their house was swept away during post-tropical storm Arthur.

The family’s home is now surrounded by yellow caution tape and they are not allowed to return to their house.

The Logues have been trying to get help for the erosion problem in their backyard for about a decade.

In the past, they contacted the town and they even filed a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman in Fredericton.

A resolution was never agreed to and then post-tropical storm Arthur hit about two weeks ago.

Their house now perches on the edge of a non-existent backyard.

“This is the washout that's been created because of the water problem I've had over the years from the water coming off the road,” Harold Logue said, pointing to his backyard.

Logue said every time it rains hard, water washes down from the road, through his lot and takes some of his bank with it.

In the winter, he said the family often can't drink the water because of the taste of road salt.

Logue said someone from the government finally showed up after the storm to tell them they had to get out of the house.

“He came on the Sunday after all this had happened, he told me that, ‘No, this is not safe to be in,’” Logue said.

“He said, ‘You definitely can't go back into your house.’”

Logue said the worker told them they could grab a few items from inside the house but they had to leave.

“Well, it's hard. This is where I've always been,” Logue said.

The Red Cross has put the Logues up at a local motel for the next couple of weeks.

Florenceville-Bristol Mayor Karl Curtis said a call from CBC News about the Logues’s situation prompted a meeting with two government politicians.

“I got to talk to Dale [Graham, the local MLA] and the premier tonight to see if there is any assistance from any side, from the province, that can help remedy the situation,” Curtis said.

The Logues’s insurance company says there is nothing it can do for the family.

The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure thought it might be an issue for the Department of Public Safety.

However, that department thought the family’s issue might fall under the Department of Environment and Local Government.