Corner Brook Mayor Jim Parsons has declared a state of emergency in the city.
Parsons made the declaration late Saturday afternoon as city and provincial government crews deal with heavy rainfall and snow melting, infrastructure damage, and an overwhelmed municipal drainage system.
The state of emergency means the city has activated its emergency response plan and fire protection back up plan.
“We are dealing with a very severe rainfall event,” Parsons said in a media release. “All available personnel are working to try and mitigate further damage. For the time being, we ask residents to stay off the streets in affected areas, if possible and stay safe.”
The mayor said all available personnel are working on the issues to try and resolve as soon as possible.
The city is asking residents to
• Stay off the roads and sidewalks
• Stay away from all brooks, streams and waterways as all of them are running fast and are a safety concern
• All riverbanks may be unstable, please avoid being near them
• Stay safely inside: ask family members and pets to stay away from rushing street water and the Main Street bridge
• Only contact the 24/7 Customer Service Line (637-1666) to relay urgent information
Road Closures
Highway access into and out of the Corner Brook is currently suspended due to infrastructure damage.
Effective immediately, the City of Corner Brook wishes to advise residents and businesses that emergency road closures are in effect until further notice.
Roads affected:
• O’Connell Drive will be closed to through traffic from the intersection of Country Road to the intersection of Walbourne’s Road
• Philip Drive will be closed to through traffic from the intersection of Elizabeth Street to the intersection of Gushue Place
• Elizabeth Street will be closed to through traffic from the intersection of Beothuck Crescent to the intersection of Grenfell Drive
• Elizabeth Street will be closed to through traffic from the intersection of Union Street to the intersection of Charles Street
• Main Street Bridge is closed
• Woodbine Ave is closed
• Maple Valley Road is closed
• Porters Lane is closed
• Boones Road is closed
Residents can call the City of Corner Brook’s Water Information Line at 634-7711 or visit the City’s official website, www.cornerbrook.com, at any time to view current boil water advisories, water outages and road closures.
Official updates will be posted on the city’s website.
