Many residents who were affected by rising waters are now dealing with the devastation left behind.
Grand Lake was one of the hardest hit communities.
Moncton resident Aubrey Kirkpatrick says the property where their cottage stands has been in his wife’s family for around 60 years.
It withstood the raging waves and winds but he says unfortunately most of the neighbouring properties did not.
“It was really sad because a lot of these places are not going to be coming back, they’re going to have to be torn down,” says Kirkpatrick. “It’s going to be a very different summer this year.”
He adds the damage to nearby properties has been astounding.
“A lot of these cottages had the fronts ripped right out,” says Kirkpatrick. “When you look in there’s nothing in the cottages, the waves literally ripped things out of the cottage, and then tossed them around to the high water mark.”
Kirkpatrick says it looks like a twister went through, adding all of their pictures and other family heirlooms are gone forever.
He adds it’s a very emotional experience, and people are left with some very difficult decisions because a lot of people spend their entire summer there, about 3 or 4 months of the year, but “they won’t be here this summer.”
(Photo Credit: Aubrey Kirkpatrick)