Karen Mackenzie
Northern News Services
Monday, July 30, 2007

COPPERMINE - Heavy rains washed away roads and forced the evacuation of three families in Kugluktuk last week.

The community was deluged by bad weather for almost four days beginning July 19.

Hamlet staff and RCMP began organizing a recovery effort and evacuation in the early morning of July 21.

Heavy rains washed away roads and displaced three families in Kugluktuk last week. photo courtesy of Elliot Chubak

"When I got called to the scene I saw that the corner of one of the houses was washed away, and then the streets began washing away," said Const. Elliot Chubak, who helped move about 10 people to safety.

A clogged culvert under Kugluktuk Drive was partly to blame for the flooding, according to senior administrative officer Linda Allen.

She said foundations built with too much sand also contributed to the problem.

"That's the priority right now - stabilizing those buildings," she said.

Most of the displaced families, who were temporarily lodged with friends or family, have returned to their homes, according to Allen.

"We're recovering. We feel very confident that it is well in hand," she said, adding that roads were reopened by the morning of July 23.

According to long-time resident Peter Taptuna, the length of the storm was a bit unusual.

"We were kind of thinking it was going to be for a couple hours, but it went on for much longer," he said

Drainage systems in the lower end of town "just kind of overflowed. It was too much water to handle," Taptuna said. "There was a lot of rain coming down, but when it started coming down off the land it was major."

Allen said she hopes the hamlet will be back to normal this week.

"People pulled together and the community works really well together anyway. We're very grateful to have a community that works in co-operation to face whatever challenges and opportunities that may arise," she said.

Damage could have been much more serious if it wasn't for the quick thinking of hamlet foreman Phillip Katik, according to Allen and Chubak.

After realizing that some of the buildings were starting to destabilize, Katik co-ordinated local contractor Kikiak Construction and the hamlet's heavy equipment operators to begin diverting overflowing waterways.

"He was just excellent. I don't brag about anybody in the communities, but this community is very lucky to have him. I was very impressed," Chubak said.

Katik also took a lot of pictures of the scene "that he will be using to make sure that we won't be vulnerable again," Allen said. "We now have a long-term fix-it to-do list. That was the really good thing that came out of it."