At least 30 houses still needed repairs, cleanup was ongoing, and the city’s residents grappled with the need to fix snowmachines, keep their soaked houses warm and prepare for future emergencies.

The storm event on October 21st brought an invasion of jellyfish to flooded areas. Eating jellyfishis thought to have resulted in one dog fatality, raising concerns for pet owners across Kotzebue.

A record storm caused extensive flooding in Kotzebue, Alaska, submerging the town and prompting community concern and relief efforts.

Water floods the Kotzebue lagoon. Grasses can be seen in July and a month later in August the water has risen 4-6 ft.

There has been alot of heavy weather hitting western Alaska this summer. Here are photos from recent storm surge in Kotzebue.

"The event occurred on June 29th, on our native allotment near Kotzebue (Illivak). We left home in the morning and when we came back around 8:00 PM in the evening the whole lake had drained! It looked like it was blown up with dynamite."

"The sea level rise and wind is making this happen because it is really vulnerable. We are always really amazed every time we go out there with the change, and pieces of earth the size of a house falling over."

The rate of coastal erosion seems to be speeding up near Cape Blossom.

The flooding was caused by a weather system that moved up to the Bering Sea from the tropics, and raised water levels and dumped rain across much of western Alaska.

A strong storm impacting NW Alaska with high winds and sea level rise (over 6 ft) caused localized flooding in Kotzebue.

Coastal erosion occurring near Cape Blossom, outside of Kotzebue, Alaska.

Coastal erosion near Cape Blossom