Deer Lake residents prepped to evacuate
Residents of homes on eroding riverbank advised to evacuate area
Flooding along the Humber River has eroded the riverbank near Pine Tree Drive in Deer Lake to such an extent that earth and trees have given way and been washed into the river.
It’s being left up to them, but the Town of Deer Lake is urging residents of two homes on Pine Tree Drive to consider evacuation
The homes on the edge of the flooded Humber River are in potential peril because of the foundering riverbank on which their properties sit.
Town officials met with the residents Thursday and urged them to consider leaving.
Neither homeowner could be reached for an interview Thursday, but Mayor Dean Ball indicated they were going to discuss the situation with their respective families before making a decision on if or when they should leave.
“This decision has been made on the side of caution,” Ball said in an interview. “It’s a voluntary request, but it has been suggested these families move.”
A landslide on the sandy banks of the Humber River below Pine Tree Drive earlier this week forced the moving of several utility poles. Ball said an engineering report done Wednesday has suggested the bank remains somewhat unstable.
There has been considerable slippage of the riverbank into the Humber River and. In one area, the bank was within six feet of Pine Tree Drive itself, as of Thursday afternoon.
Ball said any further significant land movement near the homes could force a mandatory evacuation.
On Wednesday, Ball had said he believes further erosion of the riverbank beneath Pine tree drive was inevitable.
Access to Pine Tree Drive has been limited to its residents because of the situation.
A similar situation exists on Riverbank Road on the other side of the Nicholsville bridge from where Pine Tree Drive is. A section of that road has dropped, access is limited to residents who live on the road and has also been reduced to one-way traffic.
Motorists entering Riverbank Road near the bridge now have to exit through Goose Arm Road at the other end.
Barricades have been placed
on both streets and only those who live in the immediate area are allowed in.
Residents of other nearby streets are still on alert for a possible evacuation, although the water levels in the Humber River have dropped considerably in the last day.
While the river was down by more than another foot Thursday afternoon, according to Ball, there are around two kilometres of ice backed up from
the mouth where the river empties into Deer Lake.
Ball flew the Upper Humber River late Wednesday afternoon. He said there was still another 27 kilometres of river with more ice that could still come down and continue to create a risk of flooding in the town.
The mayor said there was slob ice still moving downriver and, further up the river, solid but weak ice that could also
still make its way downriver.
Residents of the following streets in Deer Lake are still on alert for possible evacuation: Riverside Drive
Oakes Road Reginald Drive
Tower Road
Moss’s Lane
Bailey’s Avenue Source: Town of Deer Lake