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Message: Attawapiskat residents return home now
| Evacuees soon to return home By ALANA TOULIN Saturday, May 17, 2008 |
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Local leaders and provincial and federal officials have determined the flood risks have diminished enough to allow residents to safely return to their homes in the community on the James Bay coast.
The breakup of the ice covering the Attawapiskat River posed significant risks of flooding in the community, located 500 kilometres north of Timmins, Ont.
As a precaution, local leaders decided to evacuate about 1,200 residents to Hearst, Greenstone, Kapuskasing, Thunder Bay, Waterloo, and Cochrane.
Since Sunday, the 440 community members evacuated to Thunder Bay have been staying at area hotels.
Lise Sutherland, who has spent the week at the Victoria Inn with her husband and eight children, said they will likely be flying home on Sunday or Monday.
While she was hesitant to leave their Attawapiskat home at first, she said her family has enjoyed their time spent in the city.
“We like it here – it‘s been nice at the hotel,” Sutherland said, jokingly comparing it to a vacation. “We‘ve been doing some walking around, going to the mall, going swimming.”
But for her daughter Roseanne, there‘s no place quite like home, even if being away has been quite an adventure.
“I‘m excited to go back,” she said.
The first Attawapiskat residents returned home from Kapuskasing, Ont., on Friday, and the rest will follow over the next few days.
The Ministry of Natural Resources is co-ordinating the flight operations and it is hoped everyone will be back by the middle of next week.
Earlier this week, Attawapiskat First Nation Chief Theresa Hall said that after the flood risk tapered off, the next step was to wait for proper weather conditions in order to fly everybody back safely.
“The weather for Thursday and Friday is going to be rainy and cold. And possibly snowy –it‘s not conducive to flying people back,” she said in an interview Wednesday.
Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Rick Bartolucci said the provincial government is “deeply appreciative” of the communities that have hosted the Attawapiskat evacuees.
“The success of the evacuation is due to the commitment of everyone involved to put the safety of Attawapiskat residents ahead of any other consideration,” he said in a news release
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