Hundreds of thousands of people have been left without power, after Storm Fiona hit Canada's coastline. Parts of three provinces experienced torrential rain and winds of up to 160km/h (99mph), with trees and powerlines felled and houses washed into the sea.
The slope of permafrost where an 810-foot section of pipeline is secured has started to shift as it thaws, causing several of the braces holding up the pipeline to tilt and bend, according to an analysis by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.
Conservation and tribal groups in 2018 removed a downstream dam in the river northeast of Anchorage. But an upriver dam provides the cheapest energy in Southcentral Alaska. For people from the Native Village of Eklutna the river’s rebirth was an important moment. They want the 12-mile-long waterway permanently restored, along with the salmon their late elders once described as abundant.
Mat-Su schools will be closed again Wednesday, and 5,000 homes remained without electricity Tuesday night after a violent windstorm hammered the Valley.
"I've worked forecast in this area for 33 years. It's very rare. I don't remember any community in B.C. having that much damage from a tornado in my career or in the Peace," said meteorologist Doug Lundquist.
Local fisherman Darren Porter saw this coming. "It's just common sense. I mean, you can’t take your fishbowl and put it on your stove.”
The sewage pipes are protected from low temperatures with a heating system that runs on diesel. Throughout December and into January, several communities in the North Slope and Northwest Arctic have been scrambling for diesel, as well as gas and heating oil, essential to thaw pipes, heat homes and run snowmachines.
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