St. Andrews by-the-Sea Cleans Up After Post-Tropical Storm Lee

Post-tropical storm Lee has come and gone in New Brunswick but not without leaving its mark on the Maritimes. The effects of Lee started being felt early Saturday morning in New Brunswick. The storm brought sustained winds with gusts reaching as high as 75 km an hour in St. Andrews and up to 100 km an hour in other corners of the province. Fortunately, the eye of the storm was still hours away at high tide, which took place just before 2pm on Saturday in Coastal Charlotte County, meaning seaside communities were not as impacted by coastal erosion and surge as they could have been had Lee hit at a different time.

CHCO installed a live camera at the Market Wharf in St. Andrews to provide 24-hour storm coverage of post-tropical storm Lee that was available via live-stream on our YouTube channel. Over 17,000 viewers watched the storm camera, with many commenters expressing relief that Lee was not as destructive early projections anticipated it could have been.

Although Lee mainly brought heavy downpours of rain in New Brunswick, the high winds still resulted in branches, limbs and whole trees falling on properties and power lines. 88,000 NB Power customers lost power at some point during the storm, including a small number of customers in the Charlotte County area who were without power for nearly two days. The rainy summer season across the Maritimes may have played a role in impacting the number of trees that were uprooted during the storm. When the ground is saturated by high levels of rain over an extended period of time, trees roots are unable to securely anchor themselves in the soil, which can lead them to dislodge and topple over in severe windy condition.

Clean up across the province is still in full swing. In St. Andrews, the town crew has been working around clock even during the storm to remove fallen trees and branches. The St. Andrews fire department also responded to multiple calls. NB Power arborists and line workers continue to remove debris from powerlines.

"Take Back Our Town" rally

A group of St. Stephen residents have banded together online in a Facebook group called "Take Back Our Town". They held their first public meeting on Monday night in Chocolate Park to air their frustrations over the rise in crime, homelessness and drug use in the community. Co-organizers Cheyanne Matthews told CHCO that she's felt a noticeable difference in St. Stephen the last few years, and she believes greater police presence in the area and more severe penalties for criminals would make the community safer. St. Stephen resident Sari Green can tally the number of times she's been a victim of crime recently.

When we reached out to St. Stephen Mayor Allan MacEachern for comment on the "Take Back Our Town" rally, he told CHCO that he believes the municipality's recently-formed Community Safety Committee will make meaningful progress in addressing the town's issues. The committee is comprised of local citizens who put their name forward as well as members of town staff and council and aims to collaborate with various stakeholders, including law enforcement, mental health support, those with lived-experience and provincial authorities to come up with meaningful solutions to address the root causes of homelessness, drug addiction and growing crime rates in the community.

Rally co-organizer Brent MacPherson says he is hopeful the committee can help provided they get serious about taking action.  

Mayor MacEachern also told CHCO that he also recognizes that St. Stephen's struggles are not isolated but are part of a larger national issue. He also acknowledged that the lack of services and resources like a year-round shelter and rehabilitation centre in rural areas can amplify the crisis on a local level. He recently had a meeting with New Brunswick Public Safety Minister Kris Austin to explain the specific issues affecting St. Stephen and to ask for provincial support. The Community Safety Committee has yet to have their first meeting.