The Salvation Army helping residents of Perth-Andover (NB) with flood recovery
The New Brunswick village of Perth-Andover has spent the past week attempting to recover from a record flood, and The Salvation Army has been on-site lending a hand.
Perth-Andover rests on the banks of the Saint John River, near the border with Maine, roughly 75 km north of Woodstock, NB. Major ice jams along the Saint John River forced flood waters from the river to sweep through town last Friday. Of the village’s population, which nears 2,000 people, roughly one-third were forced to evacuate their homes.
The last major flood hit Perth-Andover nearly 25 years ago in 1987, and water levels during that event were over four feet lower than this flood. The one bright spot of the incident was that quick recognition of conditions meant the flood passed with no fatalities or serious injuries.
In the days that have followed, people have slowly been returning to their homes to inspect the damage, some local businesses and schools have reopened and postal service has been restored in a temporary location.
The Salvation Army has been on-site all week, providing support for residents and hard-working volunteers through its Emergency Disaster Services team. Throughout the course of the week, the Community Response Unit (a mobile kitchen vehicle) has fed over 200 people, while Salvation Army officers have made contact with and provided counselling support to hundreds more with much needed pastoral care.
“Once people recognize who we are, they usually want to talk,” Major Larry Goudie, Corps officer in Fredericton, who has spent several days in Perth-Andover, said. “We spent quite a bit of time talking with people, visiting homes, visiting businesses and talking to businesspeople who have lost everything.
“We prayed with people, there were people who were obviously very emotional, so we cried with people. It was very tiring, emotionally it drained you as you tried to be there for other people, but it was extremely rewarding.”
Major Goudie praised the community for doing a fantastic job of helping one another, but he recognizes that even with waters subsiding, there’s a lot of work left to be done in the Western New Brunswick hamlet.
“The community will survive,” he says, “but it’s going to be an uphill climb for them emotionally.”
The Salvation Army will reassess the situation this weekend, and carry on its support next week, likely with a continued focus on emotional and spiritual care as people continue to come to grips with the tremendous damage.
The team in Perth-Andover has formed partnerships with, and would like to thank, A&W Restaurant and the Ultramar Big Stop for food support, as well as fellow relief organizations like the Red Cross, Samaritan’s Purse and the Perth-Andover flood relief committee.
To view more photos from our team in Perth-Andover, CLICK HERE to head to a gallery on our Flickr page.
CLICK HERE to watch a video showing some powerful before and after shots from Perth-Andover (Not a Salvation Army link).
