As Many As 1,000 Evacuees From Kashechewan Community Headed to Southern Ontario

By THE CANADIAN PRESS

STRATFORD, Ont. – As many as 1,000 evacuees from the flood-prone community of Kashechewan on James Bay could be headed to southern Ontario.

Stratford, St. Marys and communities in Perth County have agreed to take in the displaced aboriginals at the request of Emergency Management Ontario.

Planning is underway to provide emergency shelter until conditions improve at Kashechewan, which could take up to two months.

The northern Ontario community is facing rapidly rising water levels and melting ice, prompting local leaders to declare an emergency.

A spokesman for Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources says conditions this year are particularly bad.

Hundreds of the most vulnerable residents were evacuated by plane Friday to Cochrane, Ont., Greenstone, Ont., and Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.