加拿大红十字会救助受洪水袭击的弗莱家庭

[B][SIZE="4"]The Red Cross said it is still providing accommodation to dozens of families displaced by floods more than three weeks ago.

Hundreds of people across New Brunswick were forced from their homes earlier this month by flood waters along the 700-kilometre length of the St. John River.

In response, the Red Cross set up emergency shelters across the province to assist those who had been displaced. Ten families moved into shelters just last Friday.

"They're open and there's still people in there and we continue to work with them to make sure that they're safe and comfortable and have the basic needs of life," said Richard Nelson, the flood relief co-ordinator for the Red Cross.

Nelson said the agency remains prepared to help those whose houses have been condemned, or who can't live in them because of health concerns.

Jacqueline Hoekman, her fiancé and their six children moved into a Red Cross shelter in Fredericton Friday after inspectors ordered them to leave their downtown home. The inspectors had discovered that sewage backup was tainting the house's air quality.

"[It] felt like a cold really, like sore throat, runny nose, and a couple of my kids are coughing," Hoekman said.

"I didn't really realize it was from the, it's called microbacteria, I think is what they said. That's what I think is causing our illnesses."

Hoekman said her family began feeling better once they moved out of their home, which she hopes will be disinfected this week so that they can return.

The Red Cross had organized temporary shelter for 134 evacuees at five hotels in the Fredericton area and a residence at the University of New Brunswick, although most people were relocated to a residence building at the St. Thomas University campus last week.

Fourteen people are being housed by the organization in the Edmundston area, and two in Saint John.

About 1,540 homes and businesses that had suffered flood damage have registered with the New Brunswick government as of May 15.

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