A massive, potentially record-breaking storm brought major flooding and damage to coastal towns in Alaska on Saturday morning, and some residents were evacuated. Gov. Mike Dunleavy said he “verbally declared” a disaster for communities impacted by the storm.
The governor said on Twitter there have been no reported injuries. “We will continue to monitor the storm and update Alaskans as much as possible,” he tweeted.
In the town of Golovin, major flooding was reported early Saturday, according to the National Weather Service, and forecasters warned it would only get worse. The town could see an additional 1 to 2 feet of water by the day’s end.
“Water is surrounding the school, homes and structures are flooded, at least a couple homes floating off the foundation, some older fuel tanks are tilted over,” the weather service’s office in Fairbanks tweeted.
Photos from the weather service showed the high water levels there.
Another town, Shaktoolik, reported coastal flooding, with water “entering the community and getting close to some homes,” according to the weather service. Residents there were evacuated to a school and clinic. Shaktoolik was also expected to see the worst of the storm later in the day.
The weather service also shared footage from a webcam in Unalakleet, comparing an average day in the town against the scene there Saturday morning.
As of Saturday morning, large swaths of the state’s western coast were under coastal flooding and high wind warnings. The weather service said the flood warnings would remain in effect until Sunday night while the wind warnings were expected to expire by Saturday night.
Other portions of the state are under gale and storm warnings, according to the weather service.
The weather service shared peak reported wind gusts as of 8 a.m. local time — the highest recorded was 91 mph in Cape Romanzof. Several other towns, including Golovin, saw winds topping 60 mph.
The center of the storm was located just south of the Bering Strait on Saturday morning, the weather service said.
The storm is the remnants of Typhoon Merbok, and forecasters predicted this week it could bring “potentially historical” flooding, with some coastal areas seeing water levels up to 11 feet higher than the normal high tide.
