Fredericton — It’s no laughing matter: the slow-moving and well-forecasted flood has surprised Fredericton residents again, as it seems to every year. EMO officials are advising anyone located within the flood area to evacuate their homes while they still can, to grab only the necessities and make for higher ground before they get trapped by invading waters.
In a sit-down interview with The Manatee, Emergency Measures Organization spokesperson Zachary Brown warned that if people didn’t soon evacuate that they could be caught, quote, “knee-deep in the water somewhere.”
He went on to discuss Fredericton’s recent sunny, summer-like weather, and how it seemed to juxtapose the Biblical flood beyond our windows. He urged people not to let their guards down, but also not to despair. “Got the blue sky, breeze, and [due to the flood] it don’t seem fair.”
Nightmares of the 2008 St. John River flood still haunt many residents, as most people categorize it in the same level of horror as 2014’s Hurricane Arthur. For many, it’s just one of those things that you never really get over.
The death toll of this year’s flood has officially reached that of 2008’s, a resounding zero. Some experts have suggested that number could triple in the coming days, while others have even theorized that it could climb as high as one-hundred times the current toll.
Facebook has provided a way to ensure to your friends and family that you are safe and alive, a simple click that could put the minds of your loved ones at ease. Already dozens of Fredericton Facebook users have marked themselves as “safe,” which leaves us to believe that the other 58,000 residents are in mortal peril.
Here at The Manatee we hope that everyone is keeping safe and dry, and encourage you, nay, plead you to mark yourself as safe so that we can stop worrying about you.
Support for those affected by flooding:
If you and your family reside in a flood-affected region and you’re trying to cope with fear, sadness, and other difficult emotions, or if you’re concerned about loved ones, we remind you that you can contact inConfidence toll-free, any time, for confidential support.
Professional consultants are available 24/7, with practical guidance and resources to help you ease a child’s fears, manage your own anxiety, and understand what to expect in the coming days. You can also log in to the program website any time to access helpful information, such as:
· Getting Organized After a Natural Disaster
· Helping Young Children Cope After a Natural Disaster
· Helping Your Teenager Cope After a Natural Disaster
· Recovering Financially After a Flood, Fire, or Other Disaster
· Returning to Your Flooded Home
· Restoring Your Flooded Home
· Steps to Take After a Flood, Fire or Other Disaster
· Working With Your Insurance Company After a Flood, Wildfire, or Other Emergency
For the state of water levels in New Brunswick, please refer to the River Watch website for the latest updates.
Visit inConfidence online, or call toll-free, any time, 24/7: 1-866-721-1738
Somehow I don’t think that people whose homes and/or livelihoods are being destroyed by the flooding will find this at all funny, and on their behalf, neither do I.
Exactly. Thank you Nancy for saying that. This is really insensitive
Totatllyy! I mEan, have they even thot of the children??!!?!?!
No one is making light of the fact that peoples home are being destroyed – my cottage is in the process and I still find this article on point. It’s the use of the “Mark Yourself Safe” feature on Facebook that is being made fun of as you often see it used when there is a shooting or mass casualty where there is panic and mayhem and maybe you’re on vacation and your family will be worried they haven’t heard from you, etc. etc. Yes, there are people who may be in danger from the flooding, but most people are not, and most people I have seen that have been using this feature of Facebook live far away from any of the flood zones and have not seen an ounce of water near their property. Not everything has to be taken so personally – this article brings some humour into a stressful time.
Thank you, Jen. Precisely right.
I admit I hesitated to mark myself as safe in what is obviously not a life-or-death situation. However, to those who care about me and know i live in Fredericton, but may not necessarily know the topography of the plat or the risk to my property it was an easy way to share that no one needs to worry about me.
Do you have family in other regions who may watch the news, see the intense footage reminiscent of floods in other areas of the world that have claimed lives? That’s one example of what the FB “safe” alert is appropriate for. Thanks for laughing in the face of people who are just thinking of others…..not great of you.
See, the nice thing about comedy is that it’s subjective.
Jokes are not funny
I live on the river and the flood has destroyed alot of what I own. Water so deep that not even chestwaders could get me to my home but only by canoe. The clean up and damages will cost and take alot of time to set everything back the way it was. but I made my choice to live where I live, i need no pity. the only way through any tragic event is to make light of it. This is hilarious and if your not a victim then your opinion isn’t valid.The only people I saw on my Facebook that marked themselves safe during this don’t even live near or on the river. So respectfully get over yourself
This is great Josh, making light of a horrible situation is a great way to cope. Cheers to laughing instead of crying! (because, really, what good will crying do?)
-Fellow flooded Frederictonian.
Haha!! Gotta find the funny. Pretty hard to hurt our feelings…..most of us have done this a few times. If you don’t like it, time to move. If your staying, your playing. Might as while get a chuckle where you can.
-Flooded Maugervillian
Best of luck, Debbie. Stay dry!
I was just commenting on how stupid and self serving the “marked safe” feature on Facebook is.
Wow a Flood killed my mother, and Raped my father!!!! HOW DARE YOU!
I was reading a newspaper story about a guy who sustained about $12000 of water damage and he was fishing off his flooded deck. Life is what you make it and so is comedy.