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Alaska (U.S.), Sept. 18 (AP) — A powerful storm headed north through the Bering Strait, causing widespread flooding in several coastal communities in western Alaska, causing power outages and residents fleeing to the highlands.
The force of the water pulled some houses off their foundations, and one house in Nome drifted down the river until it got stuck on a bridge.
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The storm is the remnant of Typhoon Merbok, which also affects weather patterns as far away as California, with strong winds and rare late summer rain expected.
In Alaska, there have been no reports of casualties from the storm, said Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Officials have warned communities that some places could experience the worst flooding in 50 years, with water likely to take up to 14 hours to recede.
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On Saturday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a disaster declaration for affected communities.
Hardest hit was Golovin, where most of the village’s roughly 170 residents took refuge in either schools or three buildings on the hillside. Winds in the area exceeded 60 mph (95 km/h) and water levels were 11 feet (3.35 m) above the normal high tide line, and were expected to rise another 2 feet (61 cm) on Saturday before peaking.
“Much of the lower part of the community was flooded with submerged buildings and structures,” said Ed Plumb, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fairbanks.
Clarabelle Lewis, a facilities manager for the tribal government’s Chinik Eskimo community, was among those seeking refuge on the hill overlooking Golovin. She and others weathered the storm at the tribal office after sheltering items in their home from the wind and helping their neighbors do the same.
“The wind was howling; it was loud,” she said.
Lewis has lived in Golovin for 20 years and has never experienced a storm like this.
“We’ve had several floods in the past, but it’s never been this severe,” she said. “We’ve never moved a house from their foundations.”
Plumb said there were also reports of flooding in Hooper Bay, St. Michael’s, Unalakleet and Shaktoolik, as well as waves on berms in front of the community.
He said the storm would cross the Bering Strait on Saturday before entering the Chukchi Sea.
“Then it would park west of Cape Hope and weaken,” he said of the community on Alaska’s northwest coast.
He said there would be high water levels near the northern Bering Sea by Saturday night before starting to recede by Sunday. Further north, rising water levels in the Chukchi Sea and Kotzeb Strait areas will continue into Sunday.
In Northern California, wind gusts of up to 40 mph (64 mph) are expected Saturday night through Sunday morning along the coast from Sonoma County to Santa Cruz and high elevations in the Sierra Nevada, the National Weather Service said. km/h).
Weather Service meteorologist Ryan Wollbrunn said winds of this intensity could knock down branches and dry trees and cause power outages.
The storm is expected to start Sunday morning with up to 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) of rain along the coast of Sonoma County, as the rain moves south into the San Francisco area and into the Santa Cruz Mountains, Walbrun said. Rainfall will decrease.
“It’s been a fair amount of rain early in the season,” he said, adding that the storm is expected to last until at least Monday and keep commuters working on slippery roads.
In the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of the state capital Sacramento, firefighters have been battling the largest wildfire in the state so far this year. While rain is needed, wind is a concern for staff battling the mosquito blaze, which was 21 percent contained as of Saturday morning.
Cal Fire spokesman Scott McLean said “the wind will definitely lead to erratic fire behavior” that could spark new hot spots, but the rain will bring welcome moisture. “Rain won’t put out fires, but it will help.” (The Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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