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Fredericton — The RCMP warned Friday that rising flood waters may force them to close the Trans-Canada Highway between Fredericton and Moncton.
Sergeant Derek Strong said the force is monitoring the situation on a "minute-by-minute" basis and that the water could breach the road as early as Saturday morning.
There are only two places where the danger is imminent, he said early Friday afternoon, but they would have to close enough of the highway to ensure that vehicles were rerouted onto a sufficiently big alternative route.
"You can imagine the volume of traffic," Sgt. Strong said The alternative route would take travellers to Moncton by way of Saint John.
Flood waters from the Saint John River engulf the community of Sheffield, N.B., Thursday. In Fredericton, the water crested at about 6.3 metres, some 30 cm below the 1973 mark. (Paul Darrow/Reuters)
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper got a first-hand look Friday at flood damage along the Saint John River in southern New Brunswick.
Mr. Harper surveyed the flood damage near Maugerville by military helicopter, but he didn't get into any details on what financial assistance might be available to deal with the flooding.
He said the government will announce later what disaster relief is available to the province.
“There's been good anticipation of this,” he told reporters.
“The province and various agencies have been on top of it. … So we'll get through this and then we'll get into all the business of the federal Emergency Act and disaster relief, but that's in the week to come.”
The Prime Minister was accompanied by Premier Shawn Graham and Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson, who is a New Brunswick MP.
Mr. Harper also met with residents and emergency officials at a command post in Burton.
Later, he was scheduled to make a stop in Edmunston, in northern New Brunswick, to survey the damage there.
“Assistance will be available to help [residents] recover," Mr. Graham told a press conference Thursday.
“Our government is working on a recovery plan, and details will be provided once the flooding subsides," he added. “Last week, we were in preparation mode. Today we are in response mode. Next week, we move into recovery mode.”
No estimates of the scale of damage have yet been met, but it expected to be costly. Thousands of homes were at risk as the Saint John burst its banks in numerous places. Hundreds of people registered with the Canadian Red Cross and an unknown number fled to higher ground.
The hardest hit areas have been Sheffield and Maugerville, two small communities downstream from Fredericton. Officials warned all week that the road would be inundated and people marooned in their homes if they didn't leave in time. That prediction came true Thursday, sparking dozens of rescue requests.
Emergency crews used small boats to bring to safety more than 50 people from this area. It was not known, though, how many locals remained in their homes.
Small boats were on the river again Friday, the operation co-ordinated from the local command post in Burton, just across the swollen river from the beleaguered communities, and a likely spot for Mr. Harper to visit.
Ominously, the river was expected to rise yet again in both communities. In Maugerville, it was projected to rise about 20 more centimetres on Friday and then drop that same amount on Saturday. At Sheffield, it was projected to rise 30 centimetres Friday and another 10 by Saturday.
