Canada: Fears of flooding force relocation of hundreds of people in Kashechewan

Situated on the Albany River's flood plain, Kashechewan First Nation is susceptible to flooding every spring, CBCNews release reported.

According to estimates nearly 450 to 500 people were affected and evacuation of the First Nation located along the James Bay began Sunday and is being continued on Monday.

An additional 100 evacuees were expected to be moved to the community of Smooth Rock Falls, and search for additional towns is underway.

The town of Kapuskasing wrote in a news release on Monday morning that evacuation was a deliberate precautionary measure to ensure the safety of all residents adding that the community was not immediately threatened.

Kapuskasing greeted over 300 evacuees from Kashechewan First Nations from a total of eight planes landed on Sunday, with another six expected to land Monday.

The release continued that Kapuskasing will try to ensure the safety of most vulnerable residents as evacuation flights continued to arrive throughout the week.

Kapuskasing will provide for the lodging, meals and emergency supplies for the evacuees.

For more than a decade, the town of Kapuskasing had received evacuees from Kashechewan every spring

Brandon Spence, Kashechewan's fire chief and emergency coordinator said the annual interruptions were becoming wearisome on some community members.

The evacuation had begun just weeks after signing of a new between the First Nation and federal and provincial governments to consider for options to relocate the flood-prone community to higher ground.

But no financial commitment had been made.

During a referendum held in 2016, 89 percent of the First Nation voted in favour of relocation.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)

Image of Kashechewan First Nation: Wikipedia