Water floods the Kotzebue lagoon. Grasses can be seen in July and a month later in August the water has risen 4-6 ft.
Kotzebue experienced one blizzard after another in March, and now with so much piled up and drifted snow, the community is struggling to dig out.
"I was born and raised in Kotzebue and have been through many storms. This was one of the worst."
It has been some years since we have had a long storm. March 6 marks the 3rd day and there have been no jets or small planes flying.
An ice jam caused by warming spring temperatures near the village of Buckland has left most of the town underwater and cut off access to the airport road. Residents of the village of about 400 people are preparing to evacuate by boat if water levels continue to rise.
Mayor Clyde Ramoth says frozen pipes are a chronic problem due to issues with the initial installation of the above-ground water system. The warming climate isn’t making things any easier.
High water posed safety hazards and resulted in the removal of boardwalk but also allowed boats to go further up river than usual.
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.
Folks here are famous for being able to handle the cold, but anything wet in December has always made us nervous. Especially wet falling from the sky. Lately, weather, our favorite nemesis, has broken the rules. Our confidence in the most-trustworthy feature of the Arctic -- winter -- has been wounded.
Permafrost thawing causing bridge damage.
5-23-12 Buckland River floods dumpsite - Buckland, Alaska, USA.
We performed a survey of community water lines to see how permafrost thaw and sinking foundations may be impacting homes, water and waste water systems. During the June visit we saw where foundation sinking was putting stress on pipe runs and junctions. Now in the winter we see evidence of freeze up in some of the homes where the junction boxes have been compromised, gaps in the insulation seal, and resulting freeze up and overflow of water.
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