Hay River reports extensive flood damage as second surge of water and ice hits community

Ice and floodwaters have caused "extensive" damage in Hay River, N.W.T., according to senior administrative officer Glenn Smith.

A second surge of water and ice began to push through the community Thursday morning at around 8 a.m. The town is warning residents who are still in Hay River to find high ground or take shelter at the community centre. There may be more surges coming.

An evacuation order, issued late Wednesday night, remains in place for the entire community. Residents who originally went to Enterprise should instead head to Yellowknife, Smith said. RCMP officers are enforcing road closures at Enterprise.

Residents who are still in Hay River should stay put in their current accommodations, according to a 5:30 a.m. update from the town, and not travel through Hay River "due to hazards throughout the town."

Hay River is a hub community of over 3,800 in the N.W.T.'s South Slave region. It sits where the Hay River meets Great Slave Lake.

Ice shifted overnight but jammed up again. The update stated water levels remain high and there are ice jams spanning from the West and East channels to the Delancey Estates area.

Smith called for patience as workers assess the damage to the community and come up with a plan to have residents return.

"Some areas are going to take time," he said. "We're holding people from coming back into the community until we complete that assessment and determine what return plans look like.

"We're hearing of water ... extensive water pushing through storm systems and really flooding areas that were not even close to the river because of that — water over banks, going into several residential areas."

The town's emergency management organization will meet this morning to co-ordinate a damage assessment. Smith said they will need to figure out where it's safe to operate from and assess damage to their infrastructure.

Smith said they have received reports that at least one person needs to be rescued from a rooftop. Crews had to wait for the sun to rise before tackling any rescues.

K'atl'odeeche First Nation Chief April Martel said the reserve was evacuated overnight, but a search is underway now for a person who was left behind.

As the floodwaters surged in the reserve, Martel and other workers stayed to look for that person. They eventually had to leave as the water came up fast.

She's called the RCMP to help with the search and rescue, and a few community members are still searching on the reserve.