EDMONTON- Residents from seven High River neighbourhoods were allowed to return to the town Saturday afternoon.
Authorities ordered all 13,000 residents of the southern Alberta community to leave last week when the Highwood River burst over its banks.
Saturday’s return came after provincial officials and local authorities declared the northeast section of High River safe, Friday afternoon. It’s the first stage of a three-phase community re-entry plan.
“This is an important milestone for the residents of High River and marks a significant step towards the recovery and the long-term restoration of High River,” Associate Minister of Regional Recovery and Reconstruction Rick Fraser said Saturday afternoon. “We are doing everything we can to get the people of High River back to their homes safely and to their community.”
Returning residents gathered at the Welcome Centre Saturday morning, where they were given an extensive information package containing a damage classification of their home or business, social services material and boxes of cleaning supplies to get them started on the long road ahead.
Officials have placed the 1,817 structures in the safe region in one of four categories:
- 639 are classified as Green: habitable
- 318 are classified as Yellow: minor impact, requires clean up, possible repairs, remains habitable
- 719 are classified as Orange: damaged, requires extensive repairs or renovations, not immediately habitable, residents enter at their own risk
- 141 are classified as Red: severely damaged, uninhabitable, dangerous, residents enter at their own risk
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Some residents have been told they can move back in and are counting their blessings. Ryan Domes was relieved to return home to only a flooded basement.
“We had six or seven feet of water at one point in the basement and probably three or four feet now, mostly floodwater. Priority one today is to get it pumped out.
“My first thought was it’s about time. I know there’s a lot of challenges in town but there’s a lot of dry areas,” he said. “Good news for us, bad news for most people. We feel for them.”
About 5,000 residents were able to return home Saturday, to survey the damage. The next influx will be in about a week once other areas are deemed safe for re-entry. Residents from some of the hardest hit neighbourhoods may have to wait five weeks before they’re allowed to return home.
“I realize that there are still many others who are anxiously waiting to get back into their homes, however I must stress the town is still under a state of provincial emergency and the phased-in approach allows us to ensure that the appropriate level of support is ready and available for the safe return of residents to their community,” said High River Mayor Emile Blokland.
Bus tours into the town continued Saturday, for those who have not been allowed back. About 200 people took part in the tours on Friday.
The provincial state of emergency order remains in place for the town. A boil water advisory is also in place.
With files from Carolyn Kury de Castillo, Global News.
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