As flood waters rise, New Brunswickers prepare to move belongings, animals
'We've been moving anything that might be affected by water,' nursery owner says
New Brunswickers are bracing for flood conditions as a result of a slow-moving rainstorm hitting the province this weekend.
St. George Fire Chief Sean Morton said the area's watershed should be able to absorb the 80 millimetres of water forecasted, but it will take time to know for sure.
"The Magaguadavic watershed takes 36 to 48 hours to crest. So we'll have a better idea tomorrow morning, tomorrow afternoon," he said.
Accommodating 4-legged evacuees
The Capital Exhibition Centre in Fredericton is offering space to animals who have been affected by the flood.
Mike Vokey, executive director of the centre, said this had been done in years past and since no major livestock events are scheduled in the immediate future, the centre thought they'd make the offer.
"There's 140,000 square feet of barn space here on the exhibition grounds and much of it is available this time of year," he said.
"So we wanted to reach out and let people know if there's animals that need to be accommodated that we have the place."
Vokey said many kinds of farm animals are welcome.
While there are no animals at the centre yet because of flooding, he said the centre has fielded many inquiries.
"Everybody's kind of waiting to see. The water hasn't risen yet to the level they're concerned about. But we've had people ask how much space and how they'd go about bringing their animals in."
'It's shaping up to be a problem'
The flood is also affecting some businesses in the Fredericton area.
George Scott, owner of Scott's Nursery in Lincoln, said there hasn't been any flooding yet, but the weather reports don't fill him with confidence.
"Everything looks kind of scary when you listen to the radio and look at the flood reports," said Scott.
"We're nervous because we have some areas that are low enough to have problems with the [water levels] they're proposing."
But Scott isn't taking any chances and is taking precautions.
"We've been moving anything that might be affected by water, [anything] that could float or drift away," said Scott.
Scott hopes nothing will happen, but with the St. John River expected to rise even higher, he's preparing for it.
"It's shaping up to be a problem," said Scott.
However, despite the rain, business at the nursery has been good.
"It's kind of interesting, we've had a very busy day at the garden centre. Everybody's so anxious to get planting," Scott said.
"It may be a little while before the gardens are dry enough."
With files from Matthew Bingley