Bethel Search and Rescue advises against travel on the Kuskokwim River due to dangerous conditions of open water and thin ice identified in their annual aerial survey.
Breakup of the Yukon River over the weekend has led to serious flooding in Eagle, Circle and Fort Yukon.
A 10-mile ice jam on the Lower Kuskokwim River has caused severe flooding in Tuluksak, with the area experiencing its worst flooding in over a decade.
In the Glenallen area, Yukon and Kuskokwim River communities, and Northwest Arctic floodwaters caused by snow melt and rapid warming have caused many communities to be flooded.
Officials say the floodwaters are swamping Alaska towns, tearing buildings from foundations, seeping into homes and covering roads. In Glennallen, the local utility is setting up Porta-Potties around the community, and area residents are asked to limit water usage. The state transportation department said there was water over a portion of the Glenn Highway on Monday, but the road remained open.
Usually, the Snow Glacier and Skilak lakes release every two or three years. Both at the same time is unprecedented.
During a community meeting, Chevak residents said better emergency planning should be a long-term priority. For now, though, assessing damage is the focus.
In an unusual event, a pair of beluga whales swam about 60 miles up the Kuskokwim River to Bethel. After word got out, boaters pursued the belugas and took at least one of them. Now, an official is working to collect samples of the animal to better understand where it came from.
A culvert collapse closed the road at Mile 8 from 9 p.m. Friday until one lane reopened at 10 a.m. Sunday. The culvert was washed out by heavy snowmelt.
A Kenai Peninsula village is rapidly running out of water. Low snowpack and little rainfall has led Nanwalek to declare a water emergency.
“The midpoint of the Anchor River king salmon run was extremely late. These fish are really having some odd, unprecedented run timing and behavior."
"If they were moving out of the Arctic, then you would see a lot of ponds draining... But thats not what we saw, we saw a lot of new ponds forming."
Fairbanks' May 10 temperature was two degrees below the daily record, while snow melt from an above-normal year is flooding Interior rivers.
Russian River flooded last week in Kodiak leaving some residents scrambling to address the damage.
The Chilkat River and its nearby waters are a major source of food for subsistence fishermen in Haines and Klukwan. That’s one reason decreased salmon runs are alarming in the Chilkat and other rivers in Southeast. Tribal leaders around the region are trying to get a handle on one factor that may contribute to declining returns.
In a matter of hours, Hurricane Maria wiped out about 80 percent of the crop value in Puerto Rico — making it one of the costliest storms to hit the island’s agriculture industry.
Elodea was discovered in Alexander Lake in 2014 by researchers checking minnow traps. At the time, it covered 20 percent of the lake but now has spread to 90 percent.
Norton Sound residents have reported salmon die-offs in unusually large numbers during the last week. According to the Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation (NSEDC), dead pre-spawned pink salmon were found in multiple river systems over the weekend.
The Kuskokwim River breakup has led to widespread flooding, affecting roads and drinking water in several communities, with Kwethluk experiencing significant impacts.
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