Grand Lake cottage owners take flood cleanup 'one day at a time'
Hadeel Ibrahim | CBC News | Posted: May 14, 2018 9:00 AM | Last Updated: May 14, 2018
'We're coping, we go home at night; there's a few hard nights, but we manage'
On Sunday, the McNees' clean their Grand Lake cottage, which has been gutted by the flood. Furniture and appliances spill out on the lawn and the inside smells like a damp cellar — or death, says Darlene McNee.
Their cottage has been standing since 1969. They are trying to stay optimistic.
"I know my children and my brother's kids, they don't want [the cottage] to go, and the grandchildren don't," Darlene McNee said, "but you have to realize how much it's going to cost and how much energy and time. And we're not getting any younger."
The couple, who made this light-hearted video, were two of hundreds of New Brunswickers who were finally able to see what the floodwater has done to their properties.
'All garbage now'
According to New Brunswick's River Watch forecast, water levels are expected to get below the flood stage in most places as soon as Monday.
For the last two weeks, high water levels around the Saint John River and Grand Lake area forced thousands out of their homes and caused millions of dollars worth of property damage.
"It's pretty much all garbage now," said Bob McNee of the furniture on the lawn. "I just couldn't believe it came up so far and so fast … It was just a matter of watch and wait until it receded."
On Saturday and Sunday, destroyed furniture and property lay in the sun in front of homes and cottages for workers to pick up. Tractors and trucks were driving back and forth across the Burton Bridge and Highway 105, carrying loads of debris.
Darlene McNee said it doesn't look very good for her cottage. Repairs may cost around $60,000. She says she's lucky it's only her summer cottage that's been affected. She and her husband's Chipman home is safe, she said.
Next door, twin sisters Kathy and Karen Chase have been salvaging and cleaning for two weeks. Their green cottage is clean on the inside, but the walls are warped and the whole building has tipped forward now that the deck has washed away.
Karen Chase had to wipe away tears talking about how the damage to her family cottage makes her feel. The building has been standing since the 1970s.
"We kind of had to throw our emotions away and get it done," she said. "When you talk about it, it's hard, but when you have to deal with it you just get it done. That's the military in us I guess."
Holding each other, the sisters said they're taking things one step at a time.
"We're coping, we go home at night; there's a few hard nights, but we manage," said Kathy Chase.
"But we're going to get it fixed. We just take it one day at a time … It's sometimes very overwhelming but when we take a little piece at a time it's easier than looking at the whole mess."