IQALUIT - Ottawa is going to re-imburse the Government of Nunavut for the cost of repairing damage caused by a flash flood in Pangnirtung last year, which included replacing a washed-out bridge over the Duval River.

The final cost of the repairs has not yet been tallied, but current estimates place it at $5.4 million.

Premier Eva Aariak speaks at a press conference at the Nunavut Legislative Assembly, Wednesday, July 8 on the funding of disaster repairs in Pangnirtung. She is flanked by federal Minister of Public Safety Peter Van Loan and federal Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq. - Gabriel Zarate/NNSL photo

"The natural disaster in Panniqtuuq would have placed a significant burden on the economy," said Premier Eva Aariak. "I would like to thank Public Safety Canada, the federal government and (Public Safety) Minister (Peter) Van Loan for providing financial assistance in our time of need."

The Government of Nunavut paid the immediate costs, then applied to the federal government under the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements. In Iqaluit on July 8 Van Loan announced Ottawa would pay roughly 90 per cent of the final costs, once they are calculated. Some initial cash transfers have already been made, Van Loan said.

The single largest item on the bill was the cost of purchasing a bridge and sealifting it from England on short notice to replace the washed out bridge over the Duval River.

Without a bridge, most of the community was cut off from the water reservoir, sewage treatment plant and dump from June until a temporary bridge was installed in September. The final bridge was installed in October.

Luckily, when the flood happened there were water trucks on both sides of the river, so the community was able to provide water services by pumping water from one truck to the other across the river, according to Pangnirtung resident Chris Heide. Of more concern at the time was what might have happened had there been a fire on the wrong side of the river and fire trucks were not able to reach the scene.

Premier Aariak said the incident underscored the need for research into how to adapt to climate change in the North.

"Northerners are seeing permafrost melting across all three territories and scientific work is being done in order to provide an overview on the condition of permafrost in Canada's Arctic," she said.