Ice that had been covering the Grand River in Brantford’s south end has started its journey downstream.
The ice jam in Tutela Heights broke up around 1 p.m. Thursday.
The ice un-jammed along River Rd in #Brantford at around 1pm. Officials say more ice is coming and are concerned it could jam up again near Cockshutt bridge. #icejam #grandriver pic.twitter.com/KNMxtnP6Zg
— Dan Lauckner (@vidman) February 22, 2018
While some water had been able to flow under the jam, much of the river was spilling past the banks into neighbouring fields.
Once the jam released, a surge of ice and water began to head downstream. Officials in Six Nations said they expected the surge to likely arrive in their community during the 3 p.m. hour.
Six Nations has been under a state of emergency since Wednesday afternoon due to what fire chief Matthew Miller described as “significant floods” in the area.
Several roads near the river were flooded out, while inland creeks fed by the river were also running fast and high.
Miller estimated that 30 homes were directly affected by flooding as of Wednesday.
“We’ve had some difficulty relaying to community members that this isn’t a typical flood,” he said.
The state of emergency was expected to be reassessed later in the day Thursday.
