Maritimers face property damage, flooding in wake of powerful storm

The grip of this week’s powerful rainstorm is still holding on in some parts of the Maritimes. While some communities are dealing with the aftermath, others are still anxiously waiting for floodwaters to crest.

The heavy rain resulted in major flooding in some areas, forcing road closures and flooding basements, and in one case, the storm almost proved deadly.

“The amount of rain we had and the amount of time it fell, it fell just so fast, no time to react,” says Bedford, N.S. resident Danny Bollivar.

Bollivar says he made a quick trip to his basement to shut off the power but he soon found himself trapped and in desperate need of help.

“As I shut the panel off, the door gave way, the water rushed in, it was unbelievable,” he says.

“The power of the water pushed me back against the wall. I fought my way out to look through the door; what’s normally my backyard was a lake black as coal…I thought, man, if I go out there, I’ll be gone.”

Bollivar tried the only other way out, but that door wouldn’t budge against the rapidly rising water. He yelled to his wife for help and she waded through the chest-deep water and floating debris to come to his rescue.

“I said, ‘man, let’s get out of here!’”

Bollivar says he lost many items in the flood, but material things can be replaced. He says he knows things could have been much worse and he is grateful to his wife for coming to his rescue.

The extent of the flood damage is widespread across the region but there is no word on financial assistance at this time.

For now, Emergency Management Minister Mark Furey says those affected by flooding should document their damage for possible future financial support.

“The Disaster Assistance Program is available in partnership with federal government when circumstances warrant,” says Furey. “The analysis will determine whether the circumstances exist with recent flooding.”

Meanwhile, in Upper Rexton, N.B. some residents are trapped.

“They say there’s about 10-20 families that live on the other side here,” says road worker George Harnett. “[They] have no way to get in and out.

Marilyn Simon Ingram had a foot of water in her basement Thursday morning. She lost historic documents of the First Nation and many priceless cultural items.

“They are what I use to teach the children about our culture,” she says. “The history is what I share with our people in the articles that I write.”

Speaking to anyone who is affected by the flooding, Moncton Fire Chief Eric Arsenault says help is coming.

“So anybody who has sustained damage as a result of the flooding can call the 1-800 number issued by the province of New Brunswick,” he says. “We are probably a couple of weeks away before we can get an estimate on the amounts of damage.”