Residential streets on the east side of Vale Island in Hay River, N.W.T., were under water Thursday morning after flooding began Wednesday. (Allison Devereaux/CBC)With flood evacuation orders lifted for now, people living in Hay River, N.W.T., have started checking out the damage the spring flood has caused to their homes and buildings.

A local evacuation order was lifted at 5:30 a.m. MT Thursday, but Mayor Jean-Marc Miltenberger warned affected residents that they may have to leave their homes again on short notice.

Homes in the Vale Island and West Channel areas were evacuated late Tuesday night and Wednesday after a large ice jam upstream on the Hay River broke early Wednesday morning.

Water from the rising river, which runs through the town of 3,650, began washing up onto local streets Wednesday afternoon.

Homes near East Channel flooded

As a result, homes and properties near the river's East Channel are flooded. At Chris Robson's house, almost half a metre of water and ice are floating in his yard.

"I have some minor insulation damage in the bottom section of my house. But other than that, it's mostly the yard cleanup that's quite time consuming and messy to deal with," Robson told CBC News on Thursday.

"And plus, it takes a whole summer to dry out underneath my house."

Robson said he's frustrated with the amount of traffic going through his neighbourhood, mostly people who want a glimpse of the flood damage.

"Now they've taken the barricade down and they've allowed everybody back in here to lolly-look and take pictures," he said.

'It's not as bad as last year,' chief observes

Water also flooded the road to the Old Village on the nearby Hay River Reserve, but did not sweep through the reserve's residential area.

Chief Alec Sunrise, who surveyed the flood damage for the first time Thursday morning, told CBC News it doesn't appear as bad as last year's spring flood.

"I look at this, and I'm grateful it's not as bad as last year, where there was more ice and it caused more damage," he said.

Although the evacuation order has been lifted for the time being, emergency officials warn there is still the potential for more flooding on the Hay River, which is packed with ice.