Trans-Canada Highway washed out in Ontario

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WAWA, Ontario, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Heavy rain washed out part of the Trans-Canada Highway in Ontario putting the small community of Wawa in a tenuous situation, local officials said Saturday.

The Globe and Mail reported the people of the town of about 2,600 people could be under a state of emergency for two or three weeks, and Mayor Linda Nowicki said the damage to area roads could reach $15 million.

"We will continue the state of emergency so that we are authorized to assist them and we have all of the emergency services from the province and the federal government in place to assist them," Nowicki said.

"We will be begging from the province and even the federal government. This is a huge, huge loss for us. It's not manageable by a small community such as ourselves."

Emergency Management Ontario posted a note on its website Saturday afternoon noting a dozen vulnerable residents of the Michipicoten First Nation were airlifted from their community and taken to Wawa, the Toronto newspaper said.

The storm also took out destroyed the Northern Lights Motel and Breakfast, as well as the parking lot of the Ford car dealership in Wawa, Theresa Williams, a receptionist at the town's community center, said.