Excessive snowpack and high water levels have communities across the N.W.T. at risk of flooding once again this spring. This includes Hay River, Kátł'odeeche First Nation, Nahanni Butte, Fort Liard, Fort Simpson, Aklavik, Fort Good Hope, Tulita and Jean Marie River First Nation.
Residents in the northern Alberta community of Chateh, west of High Level, could be out of their homes for several months after flooding forced them to evacuate Sunday and Monday. 'This is the worst flooding we ever had,' Dene Tha' First Nations chief says.
The couple had been watching water levels rise and fall all day, waiting for them to go down like usual. They'd finally started to relax, when the knock came. They were out of time.
Anglers in Aklavik, N.W.T., are trying to figure out why there was a shortage of fish in local hotspots this year.
Floods, caused by spring river break-up on the Liard and Mackenzie Rivers, have forced residents of the N.W.T. communities of Fort Simpson and Jean Marie River to evacuate. CBC's Eden Maury surveyed both communities from the air on May 10.
"There's basically people all over the place," Fort Simpson, N.W.T., Mayor Sean Whelly said on Monday morning. A general evacuation order was issued for the community of about 1,200 at about 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
CBC News hasn't been able to reach people in Jean Marie River on Saturday, but Paul Simon was able to find cell phone service on a drive and posted photos of the flood waters on social media.
Spring melt combined with heavy rain over the weekend has driven up water levels near Nahanni Butte, which sits on the banks of the Nahanni River. The community is accessible only by boat or plane in the summer.
Two pink salmon have been found near Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., 260 kilometres farther up the Mackenzie River than ever reported.
Debris torrents and blockages, possibly triggered by a rainstorm high in the watershed, caused Mill Creek to overflow, flooding homes and streets.
The news brings some relief for communities from Quesnel to Williams Lake and south to Cache Creek, but local governments are maintaining numerous evacuation orders and alerts issued since waters began to rise.
Spring is still months away in the Northwest Territories, but people are already looking ahead at the spring breakup season. In Aklavik, some see signs that could point to heavy flooding, a lot of snowfall, very high snow piles all over town and thick ice.
As breakup season creeps closer, the town of Hay River, N.W.T, is preparing for a possible flood during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The number of chinook salmon that reached the Whitehorse fish ladder this year hit a 40-year low, and it's not clear why. Just 282 chinook passed through the fish ladder this year, compared to 690 last year. "We did see some large pre-spawn mortality die-offs in a tributary of the Yukon River — the Koyukuk in Alaska. This was for summer chum, and not chinook — but we expect that that higher water temperature also affected the chinook migrating through."
Some welcome new visitors have recently appeared in a southeastern Alberta park — otters.
The state's water worries mirror those in B.C. Record-breaking temperatures earlier this month and a below average snowpack have led to a faster snow melt in this province.
A blue-green algae advisory is in effect for Prior Lake in Thetis Lake Regional Park after the toxic blooms were spotted in the water.
Shimmering mountain lakes will start to show new colours in coming years, new research suggests.
Lake Erie, the fourth-largest of the five Great Lakes, has broken the water level record set in 1986.
The ice may look solid, but emergency officials are warning Yukoners to be wary. M.A. Chartrand learned that the hard way last week.
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