Flooding cuts off airport access in Kashechewan First Nation as evacuation continues
People with children asked to gather at baseball diamond for evacuation by helicopter
Kashechewan First Nation, along northern Ontario's James Bay Coast, has alerted all community members with children to make their way to a baseball diamond so they can be airlifted to the nearby Fort Albany First Nation.
The fly-in Cree community started a precautionary evacuation a few weeks ago, but rising water levels forced community leaders to announce a full-scale evacuation.
Chief Hosea Wesley said the rising waters of the Albany River are just a few metres from coming over the dike that encircles the community of 2,000 people, something that hasn't happened for several years in the flood-prone First Nation.
As of Thursday morning, the road to the Kashechewan airport was flooded, forcing the First Nation to fly people by helicopter across the river to neighbouring Fort Albany, which is on slightly higher ground.
Fort Albany itself is also evacuating, with some 200 people being flown to Cochrane on Wednesday.
More flights were expected Thursday, but in a community notice posted to social media, Fort Albany First Nation announced all evacuation out of the community Thursday was cancelled so they can help out their neighbours from Kashechewan.
Evacuees are typically flown to communities in the south, to ride out the flood season in hotel rooms, something Kashechewan has been doing every year for more than a decade.