High waves damage shoreline, road and community freezer in Grise Fiord

Some unusually high waves hit Nunavut's most northerly community early Saturday morning, damaging the community's shoreline, part of a road and the community freezer.

Grise Fiord resident Larry Audlaluk says the full moon caused the high tides, which created "an interesting spectacle, but dangerous."

Audlaluk pulled his boat further ashore after finding it bobbing sideways along the shoreline.

"The tide was really getting right to the end and almost level to the place where the people have their shacks and storage houses on the shoreline and the community freezer," he said.

Audlaluk said the waves shifted the freezer from its gravel and wood foundation.

"When they built [the community freezer] it wasn't that close to shore," he explained. "But over time, as the shoreline slowly erodes away, it has become really close to the community freezer when the high tide comes."

He said it became an "urgent situation" when a section of the road was damaged and the sealift was coming in.

But Audlaluk says the hamlet came through, using its loader to ensure the first half of the community's annual shipment of goods made it into town.

Environment Canada recorded about 85 millimetres of rain in the hamlet between Friday and Sunday.

"We never used to have rain," said Audlaluk. "Just drizzle."