Life far from normal in flood-damaged Sheffield, says resident

The St. John River has receded, but things are far from normal in riverside communitiesafter the historic springflood.

Kathy Bridges of Sheffield said that while she is back in her home, many of her neighbours aren't.

New Brunswick's Emergency Measures Organization said at least 71 people are living in temporary housing provided by the Red Cross, but Bridges saidthat number doesn't show the full extent of the problem.

"Several of my neighbours are living in borrowed travel trailers in their yards," said Bridges.

"I have a neighbour living in their garage. I have neighbours that have rented apartments, that are still living with family and I also have neighbours that honestly they haven't come back to their homes and I have no ideas where they are."

Bridges said it will be a long time before things get back to normal in Sheffield, adding many of her neighbours' homes have suffered extensive damage.

"Some of them have basement structural issues, some of them probably have no power, some of them have no water, they've lost a lot of the contents of [their homes,]" said Bridges.

Waiting on assistance

Bridges said many of her neighbours are in limbo.

They have applied for disaster financial assistance and now they're playing the waiting game.

"They're waiting to see what the government is going to offer them so that they can make the best decision going forward," said Bridges.

There is no deadline to apply for funding as of yet, so there is still time for people who haven't gotten around to applying.

But Bridges said until there is money in hand, many of her neighbours won't be able to start repairing their homes.

"Some of these people don't have the funds to just start fixing their houses;they just aren't able to do that," said Bridges.

The provincial EMO did not immediately respond to inquiriesabout the timeline forfinancial assistance.

Future of neighbourhood

Bridges said she's aware of about 12 homes in her immediate area that are uninhabitable at the moment.

She said she's grown up with many of her neighbours, but they may not be neighbours for much longer.

She saidsome of them have already thought about leaving the community.

"They thought their homes were high enough after 2008and now they realize that they would have to be raised further," said Bridges.

"Some of these folks are on fixed income and they just don't have the financial resources to raise their homes."

The province has already stated they will not be paying residents to raise their homes.