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Hay River seniors return home six months after flood forces evacuation

More than six months after catastrophic flooding nearly destroyed the Whispering Willows seniors’ complex in Hay River, residents have finally returned home.
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There was severe damage caused to the complex’s Alice Cambridge common area. Photo courtesy of Sandra Patterson Lester

More than six months after catastrophic flooding nearly destroyed the Whispering Willows seniors’ complex in Hay River, residents have finally returned home.

The vice-chair of the Hay River Seniors Society, Sandra Patterson Lester, was at home on May 13 when she was advised the complex was under an evacuation order and that residents had to leave before floodwaters enveloped the building.

“They asked me to come in and help with identifying the seniors, most of them in Whispering Willows, and of course we have other members that were living in vulnerable places,” she recalled. “By time I got there, everybody was being evacuated from the Whispering Willows complex. And I helped through the evening with some of the seniors that had had flooding events in their actual homes where water poured in on them, and they were rescued.”

When Patterson Lester returned to the complex the next morning after the flood had abated, she said “the damage was basically catastrophic.”

“They deemed the building unlivable and they moved everybody as best they could throughout the North.”

For months, residents of the 17-unit complex have been living in temporary accommodations, such as hotels, rented spaces and family members’ homes across the North.

Today, aside from one individual who moved away from the community, “every single person is now back in their apartment,” said Patterson Lester.

The flooding severely damaged the building, especially the complex’s Alice Cambridge common area, and repair costs amounted to about $1.4 million, she said.

“Basically, the main floor had to be rebuilt,” said Patterson Lester. “All the millwork and all the cabinetry was pretty much destroyed because it had 12 inches of water in it.”

In addition, the building’s crawlspace flooded, meaning components for its heating, electrical, plumbing systems and the elevator needed to be replaced due to water damage.

A large amount of furniture and cabinetry was saved thanks to the diligent salvage work of society members Gary Visnowski and David Alexander, who “started (cleaning) the water out of our room because we wanted to save everything we could,” Patterson Lester said.

In a Nov. 19 news release, the Hay River Seniors Society announced that the Alice Cambridge Room was ready to reopen.

The society thanked “everyone involved in getting the Whispering Willows complex back to the tenants,” including Arctic Canada Construction Ltd (Arcan), the GNWT and ProCan, in addition to Visnowski, Alexander, Tom Makepeace, Pat Burnstad, Ron Shaw, Velma Rowe, Norma Shaw and Bonnie Webb.

“Without the help of these folks, we wouldn’t be opening,” it reads.

Patterson Lester compared the reopening to a “phoenix rising out of the ashes.”

“They knew how stressed people were, and they handled it very well,” she said. “It’s more than we could have hoped for.”

Along with damage to the building, the flooding meant most seniors lost a large amount of their furniture and belongings.

To help replace lost items, the United Way NWT recently donated $500 to each resident, “so everybody is in really good spirits,” said Patterson Lester.

When asked whether some displaced residents had expressed frustration with delays in the rebuilding and reopening process, Patterson Lester replied, “A lot of people want to fault the government because they took too long to do it, but considering what had to be done in the building, I think they did probably not the world’s best job, but certainly right up there.

“They really went out of their way for these people,” she continued. “The government did a good thing. They made seniors a number one priority.”

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It took about 40 to 50 hours to pump the water out the building’s crawlspace, “the damage… was basically catastrophic,” said Patterson Lester. Photo courtesy of Sandra Patterson Lester
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Catastrophic flooding nearly destroyed the Whispering Willows seniors’ complex in Hay River. The repairs have cost about $1.4 million. Photo courtesy of Sandra Patterson Lester
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On May 13, the vice-chair of the Hay River Seniors Society, Sandra Patterson Lester, was advised the Whispering Willows seniors’ complex was under an evacuation order and that residents had to leave before floodwaters enveloped the building. Photo courtesy of Sandra Patterson Lester
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A large amount of furniture and cabinetry was saved thanks to the diligent salvage work of society members Gary Visnowski and David Alexander, who “started (cleaning) the water out of our room because we wanted to save everything we could,” said Patterson Lester. Photo courtesy of Sandra Patterson Lester