Background Articles

A powerful coastal storm brought flooding and damaging winds to western Alaska on Oct. 8, with severe flooding and evacuations in Kotzebue and high water reported across the Bering Strait/Norton Sound region. Communities are now preparing for a larger storm expected over the weekend, with state emergency operations activated.

Authorities are still taking stock of Mendenhall River flooding, but new temporary riverfront barriers appear to have staved off the kind of severe damage seen in 2024.

A Pictou County farmer reports that many crops have failed after an irrigation pond and well dried up amid a prolonged dry spell, costing producers thousands in lost sales.

Photos show flooding and structural damage in Severo-Kurilsk and Kamchatka after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake and tsunami struck Russia’s Far East on July 30, 2025.

Reisa Elvelag has installed the country’s largest floating grate trap across the Reisa River in Nordreisa, blocking the river on July 26 and capturing 30 pink salmon within hours.

The Village of Gwa’yas’dums on Gilford Island will receive over $3.2 million from the Canadian federal government to reinforce its shoreline against climate-driven erosion and coastal flooding.

The Norwegian Veterinary Institute begins building a trap at Seida to sort out invasive pink salmon migrating up the Tana River.

A longer-term fix could still be years away and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Kuskokwim River breakup has reached Sleetmute and Red Devil more than 200 miles downstream in five days—about five days ahead of schedule—with low flooding potential reported for middle-river communities.

Highland Council is consulting on water activity restrictions at Loch Ruthven after a dramatic decline in the breeding Slavonian grebe population was recorded.

Residents of Baker Lake remain under a boil‑water advisory after 96 litres of heating fuel spilled near the community’s water intake, prompting increased sampling and monitoring.

An investigation into the death of roughly 100 fish near Alaska’s Kensington gold mine remains inconclusive months later, with both state regulators and Coeur Mining unable to pinpoint the cause despite extensive testing.

Researchers warn that European glaciers are retreating rapidly, exemplified by significant losses in Norwegian glaciers, potentially jeopardizing water supplies, agriculture, and energy. The article highlights the urgency of glacier conservation on World Glacier Day 2025.

A powerful storm in southwest Iceland caused extensive coastal damage and raised concerns over the adequacy of existing sea defences, prompting calls for a significant increase in funding for future protection.

A Yukon government survey reveals significantly above average snowpack levels in parts of the territory, particularly in the Klondike region, signaling a potential for increased flood risk.

A new study in Sweden finds that most of the approximately 1,600 power plant facilities lack fish passages, which sometimes leads to fish fatalities.

President Biden has approved federal disaster assistance for Northwestern Alaska regions affected by severe flooding and storms in October 2024.

Fort McMurray, vulnerable to ice jam floods, is enhancing its infrastructure with walls, berms, and raised roads to prevent future flooding, following a significant incident in 2020.

The B.C. Wildlife Federation is constructing 100 artificial beaver dams by 2025 to encourage beaver population growth and restore wetland ecosystems.

The Homer City Council has extended the local emergency declaration for Homer Spit, originally issued after significant storm surge damage, and is seeking further state and federal disaster assistance.