EMO warns residents to start preparing for flood season

Emergency officials are warning residents to start preparing for flood season with rising temperatures and rain in the forecast this weekend.

"This is New Brunswick, it's going to flood at some point, somewhere, it's just a question of how much," said Geoffrey Downey, a spokesperson for New Brunswick's Emergency Measures Organization.

Parts of the province can expect rain and temperatures rising into the double digits over the weekend and into early next week.

Snow melts faster when it rains and when temperatures are unseasonably warm over a long period of time.

"Now it's [rain] actually starting to fall in the north, which presents a problem for flooding in the St. John River system," he said.

So far this spring, officials have been seeing a lot of single-digit temperatures in the northern part of the province and below freezing temperatures at night.

"That creates a slow, steady melt, which tends not to create problems," he said.

Officials will meet today

But emergency officials are expecting those temperatures to increase.

For more than a week last spring, temperatures sat in the double digits, then moved upward into the 20s, which is above average for the time of year. At night, temperatures fell to a low of 0 to –1 C.

"We were getting a lot of rain in the wrong places, which is the northwest," he said.

"If we can avoid that, we should have a fairly gentle spring."

Emergency officials will be meeting on Friday to map out emergency plans. There, they will be discussing the weather forecast and the snowpack.

Downey said the snowpack is less than it was last year, but still above the 30-year average.

Right now, the average depth above Beechwood, a neighbourhood about 15 kilometres north of Florenceville-Bristol, is 70.1 centimetres. This time last year it was at 99.3 cm.

"We're still in a situation where there is some snow and in fact, a lot of snow in some spots still," he said.

Be prepared

Downey is also reminding residents to have a 72-hour preparedness kit ready.

It should include water, food, battery-powered radio, flashlight, clothes, cash, backup medication and food for pets.

"Last year lots of people lost power during the flood or had to have their power turned off," he said.

"You can't always expect emergency officials to be able to reach you at a moment's notice."

He said residents, particularly those living in an area prone to severe flooding, should also have an evacuation plan in place if flooding should occur.

"You're losing time to prepare for flood season right now," he said.