After a year of record snowfalls it shouldn't be a surprise that rivers are now flooding but I don't think that seeing river waters run over their banks and into cities and towns will ever cease to be a shock. I hadn't been following the news as closely as I usually do for the last couple of days because I was out of town so I was stunned when I saw the flood footage of Fredericton, New Brunswick this morning.

After contacting a friend in Fredericton to make sure they were fine (thankfully they live on high ground) I turned to blogs to give me the word on the street.

At Quilt, Knit, Run, Sew (and Babies) you can follow the rise of the water over several days.

There is only one way to get onto the bridge now. The under the bridge approaches are now closed. You can only get on by approaching from Westmorland Street and up off Maple Street. We can't get to the Princess Margaret from the northside because the water is now covering the road and curbing in Barkers Point.

For S at esse quam videri the flood arrived just in time for her birthday.

The commenters on the various CBC articles about the flood are all very upset that the government isn't sending in the troops, but the actual residents of downtown are pretty blase about the whole thing. We received little emergency booklets in the mail today, which is apparently to help us deal with not having the walking path by the river available to us.

I'm well versed in "snow days" but I've never had a "flood day" off from work or school. Knit Me To The End of Time was able to enjoy her extra day off but knows that she's one of the lucky ones.

While the flood has given me a "bonus" day off, it is wrecking havoc on many people's lives. My next door neighbour has brought in sandbags and hay bales to try to protect his home from the rising waters. The view from the crest of the shore is typically beautiful, but times like this also make me realize the wisdom of the settlers in the placement of their homes - built on the top of hills away from the high water mark!

Corrine Arseneau and her son took a few hours Wednesday night to walk around, both with photos in hand.

It was past 10:00 on a school night before we tiredly made our way back home. Along with the opportunity to spend "You and me - Me and you" time together, we were able to learn about respecting the water we both enjoy so much.

Pickle Hill mentions that this flood has surpassed the 2005 flood but not the 1973 flood (and it's not expected to). Jacie at Dear Treehouse found some pictures from the 1973 flood.

Floods don't respect borders and parts of Maine are also flooding, including Nicole Oullette's hometown of Fort Kent.

I called my family and they are ok. The lumberyard of the family hardware store is a total loss but it sounds like they had insurance. My family members helped with the evacuations and said the water was rising pretty quickly yesterday while they were doing that. 

Flood waters are thought to have peaked in Fredericton but are expected to remain high for days yet.  Right now there's no rain in the short-range forecast and here's to hoping it stays that way. 

Contributing Editor Sassymonkey also blogs at Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.