City officials have agreed Thunder Bay has the capacity to handle more evacuees from flooded-out Kashechewan First Nation, should the province come calling.
Earlier in the day Mayor Keith Hobbs told reporters as many as 350 additional residents from the remote, Northern Ontario community, could wind up in Thunder Bay, should conditions not improve along the Albany River.
On Sunday about 150 evacuees were flown to the city, mostly Kashechewan’s oldest and youngest residents.
“We’re keeping a close eye on it. We haven’t been asked yet but we’re just getting ourselves ready in case we do,” Hobbs said, attending the Nishnawbe Aski Nation open house.
William Nakogee, a Kashechewan resident, said it appears conditions are getting worse, with flood waters continuing to rise.
It’s getting worrisome, he said.
“I just got off the phone with my wife about half an hour ago, and the water is getting higher,” he said. “There’s one spot in our reserve where there’s a cross, and she said the cross is almost under water, it’s almost gone. That cross is about six feet high,” said Nakogee, who has publicly questioned why the community has not been moved to higher ground further up the river.
While it’s not the first time he’s been evacuated, nor nearly the longest – community members were out of their homes for four months in 2006 – Nakogee said it’s still stressful for everyone displaced from their homes.
At least government officials are doing their best to keep families together.
“That was their main concern,” he said.
Thunder Bay Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Greg Hankkio said a dozen more evacuees are being relocated to Thunder Bay on compassionate grounds.
“It’s through the repatriation process, so they are going to be relocated here to be with family members,” Hankkio said, adding the city’s Emergency Operations Control committee is attempting to set up recreation opportunities for Kashechewan youth and buses to provide ground transportation.
Nakogee is hopeful the original estimate of how long they’ll be away from home holds true. But he’s not all that convinced they’ll be home by this time next week.
“When they told us we were going to get evacuated, we were told we would gone for only a week. So far that’s what they’re estimating, but it sounds like back home that this is getting worse.”
Nakogee fears the damage he’ll return to, not to mention the stress everyone is under after being torn from their home.
“There’s a lot of stress going on, not seeing family and friends, because we’re used to seeing each other every day,” he said.
“And it’s going to be awhile before we see each other again.”
Morale is holding up through two days in Thunder Bay.
“It’s going quite well. The food’s great. It’s my first time in Thunder Bay, so it’s going to be my first experience here,” Nakogee said.
About 800 people have been flown out of Kashechewan since the disaster was declared. Sudbury, Timiskiming Shores and Cornwall are also housing out-of-town guests because of the flooding.
-- With files from Jeff Labine
