Volunteers with the Canadian Red Cross say home fires or burst pipes displaced more than 60 people across the Maritimes on Saturday.
A fire along Route 115 in Notre-Dame, N.B., about 25 kilometres north of Moncton, destroyed a house and displaced three adults and one child.
Two adults also had to evacuate a 24-unit apartment building on Moncton’s Bliss Street due to burst water pipes.
Volunteers say the pipes froze because of extreme cold weather.
A family of seven, including five children, also experienced burst pipes, flooding and power outages at a Saint John apartment building.
The incident displaced all seven from the complex on King Street East, officials said.
More than a dozen residents were also forced to evacuate a multi-union apartment building on Saint John Street on the city’s west side due to major damage from burst water pipes.
“Red Cross volunteers arranged emergency lodging and meals for seven people from four apartments,” said Red Cross spokesperson Dan Bedell in an email.
“Other tenants arranged to stay with relatives or friends.”
Bedell says Red Cross volunteers also arranged emergency lodging in Saint John for a woman and her two adult children after their building on Taylor Avenue lost power and heat.
Meanwhile, in neighbouring Nova Scotia, a fire caused heavy damage to a mobile home in Amherst, N.S. and displaced two adults.
Bedell says someone used a propane torch to thaw frozen water pipes.
Water damage from burst pipes also forced the evacuation of two units of a six-storey apartment complex in Dartmouth, N.S.
Bedell says three adults evacuated from the building on Nova Court.
Three people were evacuated from a multi-unit apartment building on Sylvia Avenue in Halifax due to burst pipes and the resulting water damage.
Bedell says a retired couple was also displaced by a fire at their home in Higginsville, near Middle Musquodoboit, but their needs were met by relatives pending further help through insurance.
Also on Saturday, water damage and safety concerns from burst pipes forced a 22-unit condominium on Willow Street in Truro, N.S.
“Most residents made their own arrangements like staying with relatives or friends, but Red Cross volunteers assisted one person with emergency lodging,” said Bedell.
“Thirty-nine people are being helped by Canadian Red Cross volunteers with emergency lodging and meals, and in some cases with urgent purchases of clothing and some other basic needs.”
None of the incidents resulted in any injuries.