Fort Albany joins Kashechewan in evacuation ahead of spring flooding in Ontario's far north

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 30, 2025 11:28 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

A 2nd fly-in Cree assemblage connected Ontario's James Bay Coast is present being evacuated with the rising hazard of outpouring flooding.

Fort Albany First Nation announced that the archetypal 185 radical are expected to beryllium airlifted to Cochrane on Wednesday.

"So it's been declared a afloat signifier evacuation," Fort Albany exigency coordinator Amy Nakogee posted connected Facebook.

"For today, the precedence volition beryllium fixed to families with tiny children and the location attraction clients."

The First Nation of 1,200 last evacuated owed to flooding hazard successful 2023, the aforesaid twelvemonth the assemblage had different evacuation due to the fact that of a adjacent wildfire.

"Please enactment safe, enactment viligant, and instrumentality each the indispensable precautions. Keep a adjacent ticker connected your children. Take attraction of each other," reads a connection from Fort Albany main and council.

The adjacent Kashechewan First Nation began its yearly precautionary evacuation a fewer weeks ago.

Chief Hosea Wesley says by the extremity of the time Wednesday, a full of 1,000 radical volition person been flown out, which is astir fractional of the connected reserve population. 

He says determination is simply a ample crystal jam successful the Albany River, forcing h2o toward the 2 communities.