Evacuees receive green light to go home

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2011 (5548 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Grant Vogt never truly realized what it meant to be home until he was ordered to leave it.

"It’s going to be nice to get back into our home, get the kids back into their rooms and for me to get back into mine," said Vogt, one of the 1,400 evacuees who will return to their homes in the Flats this weekend after a three-week evacuation.

"(Brandon Mayor Shari Decter Hirst) came last night and dropped off that letter (on Wednesday evening) and the news spread like wildfire. We were having supper and everyone scrambled to see if it was real and sure enough it was. There were a lot of smiles last night."

For Decter Hirst, telling people they could go home was one of the most moving moments since she became mayor last October.

"I was on their doorstep at seven in the morning, telling them they had to go and I was not prepared to rest until I could tell them they could come home," Decter Hirst said as a wave of relief and emotion briefly overtook her voice. "I talked to the people in the lobbies as I delivered the news and I am looking forward to having a city-wide welcome home party, probably on the first of July at the Keystone Centre."

The return of residents to their low-lying homes on the south side of the Assiniboine River is staggered to provide the necessary assistance to the evacuated homes.

On Saturday, residents living west of 15th Street North to 26th Street North will be allowed to return, starting at 8 a.m. Those living east of 15th Street will be allowed home on Sunday, also starting at 8 a.m.

On both days, Manitoba Hydro crews, Public Health staff, Brandon Police Service members, building inspectors, transit drivers and language interpreters will be on hand to restore utilities and provide other advice as required.

To ensure essential home utilities and services can be restored, evacuees are requested to return home before 2 p.m.

There could be delays in getting service, so patience is requested.

When evacuees return home, they will be required to show identification with their addresses at security checkpoints that will be set up, and other locations as required. Those who don’t live in the evacuated area won’t be allowed in.

Brandon emergency co-ordinator Brian Kayes said if there is water in basements of evacuated homes or sewer backups, residents should call a private plumbing firm for assistance. If there are concerns about dirty water in the pipes, they can be directed to the city’s public works department between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Saturday or Sunday.

Lisa Kosior, a McDonald Avenue resident, said her home is dry and she’s anxious to get back to tending to her yard and house on Saturday.

"I haven’t slept since we got to the hotel," Kosior said. "It’s only been because of my cat because she’s very distressed and I couldn’t put her in a kennel. To go home to my own place and to do my own things, to mow my lawn, that’s going to be awesome."

This won’t be the first time many have been home during the three-week evacuation. Residents were allowed to return on escorted visits to check on their properties and sump pumps.

"The (Brandon Police Service) is doing an amazing job down there," Vogt said. "I was scared about looters taking advantage of the situation, kicking in doors and loading stuff up. There was none of that. The BPS were all over the place every time I went to check on my house. I’d see two or three cars at a time."

Kosior said she had only been home twice during the evacuation just to check on her house.

"When I was there, I kept thinking, I could be doing dishes, or I could be doing that, but can’t," Kosior said. "The house is fine. No water, nothing. If the levy had broken I would have been worried."

While for Vogt, the flood’s worst is almost over, some memories and reflections will linger on.

"That knock on the door at eight in the morning (on May 9), giving you 12 hours to evacuate your home because it could be flooded out was one of the scariest things I’ve ever experienced," Vogt said. "That’s when I knew this was real. But this has brought a reality check to our neighbourhood too because a disaster can happen anywhere, not just in Japan or Haiti. It can happen here. That part of town could have been wiped out fast."

Returning home allows some evacuees to finally deal with the stress of being forced to leave because of the biggest natural disaster to hit Brandon in an estimated 300 years.

"We’re not even going to carry in the bags when we get home," Vogt said. "We’re just going to walk around the home, turn off the alarm, open up the blinds, open the windows and let the light shine in again. I think we’ll just sit there and say a little prayer."