From destruction to construction: Fort Simpson residents pivot to cleanup

Fort Simpson, N.W.T., flood victim Derek Erasmus says things are looking up.

He's among the Fort Simpson residents who quickly got down to work to restore homes in the village after an estimated 700 people were forced to evacuate over a week ago when the river broke. Some fled to Fort Smith, Hay River and Norman Wells. 

Flood waters have since receded, and community members have returned to assess the damage.

Erasmus earlier told CBC that his garage and rental unit filled with nearly a metre of water, soaking his tools and his wife's pottery studio. Without insurance, rebuilding will be a considerable effort, he said, adding the home would need new flooring, drywall and replaced insulation.

But work is getting done all the same.

On Thursday, he said the main part of the house is "ready for construction," with the tarnished bits ripped out, including baseboards, drywall and cupboards.

It's some of the small details of clean up that are lifting the mood for him, he said.

"When we Squeegeed … all the mud off the floor, that was very uplifting," he said. "It really changed our spirits to see a clean floor." 

It was also a good feeling to box up all the salvageable items and bring them to the undamaged part of the house.

"It's kind of shocking to see that everything below a certain level is destroyed and everything above it is just as we left — it was something to see for sure."

Meanwhile, a more recent resident reflected on his impression of the community, and the aftermath of the flood has shown him just how welcoming it is.

Sergey Makaranka moved to Fort Simpson just five weeks ago. He's been in Canada for the last 16 years, though he was born in Belarus and served in the military there. He said the skills, competence, and efficiency of the people who put together the evacuee camp were analogous to the skills he saw while with the military.

"It's not that the military came and did that. No, it's just regular people from [the] community," he said.

"They know how to survive in this situation and deal with all this stuff."

He says he's also impressed with the kindness of the people at the camp.

"I was impressed that people are friendly, it's all community, that people basically they know each other, they get together and to go through all this stuff, helping each other," Makaranka said.

At one point, he was cutting wood beside somebody and later found out it was the Chief Gerry Antoine. He later did the same kind of work alongside Jim Antoine, former chief and premier. He says he was blown away by how everybody rolled up their sleeves to do real work.

"I noticed that it doesn't matter what the status [is] of a person … they just come and work as a regular person," he said, adding the community has readily accepted him.

"I'm new but never had this feeling that I'm a stranger here. I was always welcomed everywhere at the campground. I go to every tent and I've been offered food."