Alward understands flood victims' frustration

Premier David Alward says he understands the frustration being felt by many New Brunswick residents who are waiting for financial assistance after their homes were damaged during December's storms.

The New Brunswick government has received more than 1,100 claims for financial assistance stemming from the three powerful storms that hit the province in December.

So far, about 150 people have been given advance payments to begin the work of repairing their damaged homes or property.

Alward said in an interview on Friday that he understands the frustration of flood victims whose lives have been disrupted by last month's floods and storm surges.

He said that's why more inspection teams have been hired so they can help assess the claims.

There have been some complaints coming in from parts of New Brunswick about how the process is unfolding.

But the New Brunswick premier said given that thousands of people were affected in different areas of the province, it is not an easy task go respond to all the applications.

He said anyone who has problems with filling out their applications for disaster relief can request help.

"If people are having difficulty with that, we will ensure that people work with them to get that done," Alward said.

The premier said the priority for his government is helping flood victims and getting their lives back to normal as soon as possible.

The New Brunswick government has estimated the three December storms inflicted $50-million worth of damages on property and infrastructure.

The first storm to hit was in northern New Brunswick and forced several evacuations in the Charlo area.

Widespread damage was done to communities in southern and western New Brunswick during a mid-December flood.

And the east coast was hit by storm surges roughly a week later.

Once all the applications have been processed, Alward said his government will do a complete review of the process to see what can be done to improve how it responds to disasters.

People have until Feb. 4 to register for financial assistance.