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Alaska struggles to cope with floods, power outages when a big storm hits


A house is seen drifting in the Snake River near Nome, Alaska, on Saturday, September 17, 2022. Much of Alaska’s west coast could see flooding and high winds as the remnants of Hurricane Merbok move into the Bering Sea area. The National Weather Service said some locations could suffer their worst coastal flooding in 50 years.

Peggy Fagerstrom | Photo AP

Residents on Alaska’s vast and sparsely populated west coast braced themselves for a powerful storm that forecasters say could be one of the worst in recent history. Strong winds and waves can shut down power and cause flooding.

The storm is a remnant of Hurricane Merbok, which climate expert Rick Thoman of the University of Alaska Fairbanks says is also affecting weather patterns in far Alaska – a rare late-summer storm is forecast. will bring rain this weekend to drought-stricken areas of California.

“All this warm air being carried northward by this superstorm is essentially triggering a chain reaction in the jet stream downstream from Alaska,” he said.

“It was a historic hurricane,” said Thoman. “In 10 years, people will treat the September 2022 storm as a benchmark.”

Strong winds are forecast in parts of the Bering Sea, while in the small communities of Elim and Koyuk, about 90 miles (145 km) from the central community of Nome, water levels could reach 18 feet. (5 meters) Normal high tide line, according to the National Weather Service. A flood warning is in effect until Monday for parts of northwestern Alaska.

In Nome, home to about 3,500 residents, Leon Boardway is open as usual on Fridays at the Nome Visitor Center, half a block from the Bering Sea. “I just want to open the door and turn on the coffee pot,” he said after it started to rain and the wind was strong.

But few people came. Residents, visitors, and businesses in the town, famous as the end of the Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Dog Race and the setting for the reality TV show “Bering Sea Gold,” have taken to their windows and prepared for the storm.

Boardway, 71, said: “The ocean is getting worse when checking out the center’s webcam.

“I hope everyone is calm and everyone is just in a good, safe position,” he said.

Typhoon Merbok formed further east in the Pacific Ocean than where such storms are common. Thoman said water temperatures were unusually warm this year so the storm “could be reeling”.

Meanwhile, a low-pressure system is expected to descend from the Gulf of Alaska and land off the Northern California coast, generating gusty winds before rain late Saturday, the National Weather Service said. know.

In the Sierra Nevada foothills northeast of the state capital Sacramento, fire crews battled the biggest wildfire in that state so far this year. While rain is required, the storm is also forecast to bring winds that can spread the Mosquito Fire.

The storm will slow but not end California’s fire season because fuels here are extremely dry and warmer, drier weather will follow, said Courtney Carpenter, a National Weather Service meteorologist. .

Forecasters say the weather system will spread rain down the state’s central coast but little if any is expected in most of Southern California, where mountain and desert communities are dealing with the aftermath of too much rain.

Crews are clearing head-to-head mudflats in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles, following Monday’s flash flooding. Downpours from the remnants of a Pacific storm caused havoc in Southern California, with winds reaching 100 mph (160 km/h) last weekend.

First responders on Thursday found the body of a woman missing since a landslide tore through her mountain town. Her remains were discovered buried under mud, rocks and other debris near her home.

Desert regions have added to road and infrastructure damage in desert national parks due to severe summer monsoon thunderstorms.



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