New Brunswick announces new flood mitigation plans

The province of New Brunswick has announced flood mitigation plans, including spending up to $8 million on relocation and flood-proofing in the Perth-Andover and Tobique First Nation regions.

Environment and Local Government Minister Bruce Fitch had recently announced interim mitigation measures following flooding in March of this year. Results from a mitigation study released last month had suggested the province could see costs of up to $8 million for the relocation of about 70 homes and flood-proofing efforts, which is now part of the new measures.

According to a government statement, the newly announced plans include:

• $360,000 to backfill a low area of River Street and to construct a small levee on Pit Road to protect properties from future damage;
• $300,000 to upgrade a 0.8 km stretch of trail to allow emergency vehicles access to the Hotel-Dieu Hospital in Perth-Andover when high water events occur;
• $50,000 for ice jam modelling; and
• up to $8 million for a relocation and flood-proofing program for homes most significantly impacted by the 2012 flood. Each property will be assessed individually.

In the weeks following the flooding, the province paid out about $5 million for almost 200 disaster financial assistance claims, it noted.