Flood: Winisk, Winisk River Northern ON, May 16 1986.

Precipitation was nearly three times normal in the western James Bay area of northern Ontario in March and April; as the snowpack melted, ice jams formed on the Winisk River; the river then overflowed its banks and Winisk was inundated; the isolation of the community, the magnitude of the flooding and a blizzard made rescue efforts difficult. Of the 131 residents, almost all were airlifted to safety; two died; the community was virtually destroyed; a new town site was developed upstream at Peawanuk.