Floods in Hay River: “the consequences will last a very long time”

The water of the river flows without too much difficulty, the last pieces of ice being carried downstream.

Jane Groenewegen, who stayed in Hay River during Wednesday night’s flood, thinks the breakup is almost over.

We’re at the end of it now…except for the consequences. That will last a very long time.

Both communities remain under an evacuation order, and residents who have left are not yet allowed to return.

No return to the communities for the moment

In an update released late Thursday, the city said it was still focused on emergency response and had yet to begin recovery efforts.

The city’s infrastructure is significantly compromised, preventing safe return to some areas of the community until the situation is restored.

City officials say water levels hit new highs on Thursday and a second afternoon surge flooded the north end of Miron Drive, downtown and Cranberry Crescent, causing flooding. property damage throughout the city.

The floods have also damaged the sewage system and knocked out the water treatment plant, which means that the remaining residents on site have to boil the water that comes from the tap.

The City also said there was still an ice jam on Thursday evening six kilometers south of where the East and West canals converge, the last ice remaining in the system, according to her. Videos and photos taken at the bridge on Friday morning show that there is no more ice on the river.

In an update at 8 p.m. Thursday, the city said it expects more flooding to create more flooding.

She also said emergency crews need to understand what hazards to consider before allowing residents to return.

Jane Groenewegen explains Friday morning that trees, ice and debris are piled on the shore and the smell of diesel fuel from washed-out tanks wafts through the air in some areas where the waters rise. were withdrawn.

She adds that some residents are frustrated that they cannot return to the community to check on their homes.

I think it’s going to be a slow process of getting back to what we call normal.

The government is trying to be responsive

Northwest Territories Municipal and Community Affairs Minister Shane Thompson says residents will need to be patient as emergency crews work to respond to the flooding.

His ministry coordinates the territorial response and helped set up the evacuation centers. It ensures that host communities have food, medical supplies and anything that evacuees might need.

We try to be as responsive as possible. All departments are working on this and we are trying to get people there.

The government says it learned from last year’s floods that it needed to be better prepared, further explains the minister. For this year’s breakup, they started preparing well in advance by having experts in place to help community members navigate their flood recovery efforts.

Yet there was no way of knowing where the floods were going to take place and how big they would be.

You have a plan, and then it gets worse than you expected. Will there be shortfalls? yes we knowlaments Mr. Thompson.

As officials have said all along, emergency response takes priority. The focus will be on recovery efforts as soon as it is safe to do so.

The main thing is to be patient. We work with the city and the federal government. [ …] We are working to ensure residents return home as soon as it is safe and possible.

With information from April Hudson