Thunder Bay, ON -- Thunder Bay will be the short-term home for three hundred fifty to four hundred residents of Attawapiskat First Nation, a community on the James Bay Coast. The residents have been evacuated from their homes on the shores of James Bay due to flooding caused by ice jams on the Attawapiskat River.

“We can only imagine how difficult it is to be uprooted from your home,” commented Mayor Lynn Peterson. “We expect this will be a long day for the folks coming from Attawapiskat and we are glad to be able to provide a home away from home. We will work with community leaders from Attawapiskat to provide for the comfort of their people.”

Flights from Moosonee, where the residents were evacuated first, started arriving in the city just before 12:00 noon, and continued throughout the day. Eight to 10 flights are expected.

The Landmark Inn and Victoria Inn have indicated that they have enough hotel rooms to accommodate the evacuees until they are able to safely return home.

The local coordinating team including the City of Thunder Bay, Police, Fire & Rescue, Superior North EMS and Canadian Red Cross, has met to make necessary arrangements. The team will deal with evacuee requirements as they emerge.

There are a number of other evacuees in Greenstone , and other Northern Ontario communities.