A powerful, ongoing storm in Western Alaska has flooded communities, destroyed homes and left some residents injured by flying debris. Officials say rescue efforts are underway after floodwaters in multiple communities swept homes off their foundations. The remnants of Typhoon Halong tracked farther east than expected, slamming into the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta coast early on Sunday morning. Officials said Sunday afternoon that the hardest hit communities appeared to be Kipnuk, Kwigillingok and Napakiak.
Communities are tallying up damage from a severe Bering Sea storm that brought flood warnings to a vast swath of Alaska's western coast.
Flooding had already begun by Wednesday afternoon, and the weather service forecast said water could rise as high as 10 feet above the high tide line. Flood waters are expected to peak around 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Flash floods kill an average of 127 people annually in the U.S., and nearly half of all deaths involve vehicles. People don’t realize that it doesn’t take much water to strand or even sweep away a car.
The damage from the storm Tuesday and Wednesday recalled the aftermath of a tsunami, with survivors left to pick up the pieces as they mourn loved ones lost in Spain’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory. Many streets were still blocked by piled-up vehicles and debris, in some cases trapping residents in their homes. Some places still don’t have electricity, running water, or stable telephone connections.
Over the past few months, the Mass Department of Public Health, working with the Department of Recreation and Conservation, has deemed dozens of water locations throughout the state closed due to high bacteria levels.
Communities along the lower Kuskokwim River and coastal areas in Western Alaska assess damage from recent storms, with flooding and erosion impacting homes and infrastructure, and a new storm potentially exacerbating conditions.
Erosion of the shoreline on Well Island is threatening the water line that connects the village of Noatak to their water supply. The Tribal Health System is coordinating with the federal agencies and state and borough to support water supply needs and repairs.
The city says the water is tested and safe to consume. The city is switching water source back to the Yellowknife River as a primary source, as a result of warm weather consumption, several known leaks, and perhaps other still unknown failures.
Weather agency says the severity of the precipitation is only seen ‘once in about 200 years’.
Intense rainfall in Cheonan, South Korea, causes significant erosion of a local river park road.
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