Village anxiously watches as ice jam raises water within a metre of flood stage

Residents of a village not unfamiliar with the risk of flooding every spring are anxiously watching what happenson the St. John River.

Perth-Andover Mayor Marianne Bell said no flooding has happened in the village, but the community is staying vigilant as an ice jam raises water levels in the river.

"Right now [the ice] looks pretty dramatic and we just don't know if it's going to turn into an event or not that's part of the anxiety we experience every spring," she said.

On Monday, the government of New Brunswick's River Watch model said the water in the river was 76.3 metres high at Perth-Andover. The model shows that flooding happens at just over 77 metres.

In 2012, an ice jam raised water levels above the flood stage, prompting a mandatory evacuation order for 500 residents near the bank, and ultimately causing property damage amounting to $25 million.

While most homes were either relocated to higher ground or raised, many businesses and apartment buildings are still in flood-prone parts of the village, Bell said.

A look at the ice jam along the St. John River

4 years ago

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Perth-Andover Mayor Marianne Bell on the ice jam along the St. John River as seen on Monday.

"There aregoing to be several days where we might have jamming and we're all going to be anxious.

"As long as the water levels stay where they are right now,that's good. If they start creeping up we're all going to be paying a lot more attention than even we are now."

Because of the risk posed by potential flooding,Andover Elementary School, Perth-Andover Middle School, and Southern Victoria High School were closed on Monday, and will be closed again on Tuesday,Anglophone School District West superintendent, David McTimoney saidin a letter to parents.

Bell said there was some water over Route 105 between the village and neighbouring Tobique First Nation caused by the ice jam.

No time to let guard down

With warm weather melting ice in therivers, combined with rain in the forecast on Monday, all New Brunswickers need to stay vigilant near waterways, said Geoffrey Downey, spokesperson for the Emergency Measures Organization.

"What people need to do is be aware," Downey said. "They can't be taking this with a laissez-faire attitude at the moment.

"We've seen how quickly things can change."

Downey saidPerth-Andover is of high concernbecause of a four-kilometre-long ice jam along the St. John River, whichspilled over the road in places as a result.

Downey said River Watch was sending out a drone on Monday to have a closer look at the ice jam, but there isn't much the program can do at this point.

"This isn't just a St. John River issue, this is a spring in New Brunswick issue," he said.

Other rivers also being monitored

River Watch was reporting the St. John River was just above flood stage in the Hartland area,at 46.3 metres. Downey said this was related to the same ice jam affecting Perth-Andover.

Meanwhile, the Nashwaak River, which meets the St. John River at Fredericton,saw two spikes over the weekend where ice began to pile up.

Downeysaid the river didn't reach flood stage, but it rose very quickly.

Downey said New Brunswickers need to stay off the ice on rivers and lakes. Even walking to test ice thickness or going near ice to take a selfie could be very dangerous, he said.

"When the ice starts letting go, it lets go. There's no controlling it."

Residents living on property near any water across the province should remain on high alert, he said.

The province is expecting some warmer weather this week, which Downey said will contribute to the melt but isn't a great concern as snow levels were lower than average this winter.

He said the biggest concern is with ice and possibleprecipitation.

Two residents in the Greater Moncton Area needed rescuing Saturday, after poor road conditions sent them off the roadway.