![Flood evacuees from Hay River and Kátł'odeeche welcomed at Yellowknife multiplex](https://i.cbc.ca/1.6451123.1652381438!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpeg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/andy-cardinal.jpeg)
Flood evacuees from Hay River and Kátł'odeeche welcomed at Yellowknife multiplex
CBC
Flood evacuee Andy Cardinal just drove all night to get to the Yellowknife Multiplex and says it's been an "emotional roller coaster" thinking of the residents of Hay River and Kátł'odeeche First Nation who were ordered to leave the flood zone last night.
At the multiplex, evacuees are registering themselves and Yellowknifers are ready to pitch in to help those that are displaced.
As Cardinal left Hay River, the main centre saw floodwaters rise suddenly, spilling over the road.
"The water was just coming up. People were just driving through as fast as they could, so they wouldn't stop," he said.
Cardinal said community members have been helping each other out, like elders who needed assistance using the cardlock gas pumps to get out of town.
Cardinal, who lives on the Kátł'odeeche reserve five kilometres from the Kátł'odeeche bridge, said the conditions there deteriorated rapidly.
"The water came up so fast. Unbelievable, like a jump [of] four feet in seconds, like four feet," he said.
"Then we said, we're out of here. We jumped, cut off all the power, jumped in the truck, and we were gone."
When Cardinal reached the bridge, the alarm to leave the reserve was already blaring.
"The scary part about it was that it came up so fast on the ice bridge crossing that all got pushed up with ice."
People in the village were stuck, and so Cardinal's brother Amos brought in a loader to push the ice aside.
There were cars lined up when his brother arrived and the ice chunks were so large they could push a loader to the side.
"He started fighting with the ice to get it to move it back," Cardinal said. "He was having trouble moving the ice, but he just managed to get inside long enough for the vehicles to start going through. So it was really nerve-wracking."