The first of this year’s flood evacuees from the James Bay coastal community of Kashechewan are scheduled to arrive in Timmins on two flights Monday afternoon.
The Kashechewan First Nation has declared a state of emergency due to the potential of flooding. The community of 1,900 people is on the southern bank of the Albany River. It has been evacuated every spring for the last several years because of flooding.
This is earlier than was anticipated for the evacuation to begin. On Thursday (April 11), City of Timmins CAO Dave Landers told My Timmins Now Dot Com that the first arrivals weren’t expected until Easter weekend at the earliest. Last month, the city agreed to coordinate services for the evacuees while they’re in Timmins.