Residents of Attawapiskat who were evacuated over the weekend are heading back home after the First Nation lifted its state of emergency on May 19.
More than 1,000 evacuees are expected to return over the next three days from six host communities, including Kirkland Lake, Fort Frances and Wawa in Ontario, and Val d’Or, Rouyn-Noranda and La Sarre in Quebec.
The First Nation declared a state of emergency on May 16 after the breakup of the Attawapiskat River led to rising water levels.
Now community leaders and Ministry of Natural Resources officials agree the community is safe from flooding after most of the ice has flown out the bay and water levels have receded.
The Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management is coordinating the return of Attawapiskat residents with leaders from the community along with other federal and provincial departments and the host communities.
Last year, more than 400 residents were evacuated due to the threat of flooding. Another 70 were evacuated prior to that after they experienced sewage backups in their homes.
When I was a boy growing up in my home community of Attawapiskat on the James Bay coast, I was deathly afraid of looking at the full moon.
I grew up...
I’m happy to see the ongoing support and assistance in our northern remote communities to help our people cope with so many lifelong and generational issues...