“Whatever led up to the situation where all the sudden we don't have any fuel in the dead of winter, and with all these storms coming through, is beyond me,” said St. George resident Victor Malavansky. “I would like to say this is totally unacceptable.”
During a community meeting, Chevak residents said better emergency planning should be a long-term priority. For now, though, assessing damage is the focus.
A landslide in Wrangell, Alaska, killed three people, destroyed homes, and left three missing after heavy rainfall triggered the disaster.
Just this month, more than 23 inches of snow have fallen in Anchorage, 17.5 inches above normal. A weekend storm clogged Anchorage streets, creating hazardous road conditions. The Anchorage School District closed school buildings and canceled after-school activities, calling a remote learning day.
Road crews say they’re still working to fully carve out the streets and haul snow away, after the city was hit with a trio of major storms this month. Some of Anchorage’s roads are maintained by the state of Alaska, and others by the city.
Anchorage and Mat-Su Borough schools and state offices are closed Thursday as a third major winter storm this month coated the area with snow overnight Wednesday. “In the past 11 days, we’ve had 41.1 inches of snow which is a lot for Anchorage,” Baines said.
Safeway on Mill Bay Road is the only large grocery store on the island. And store management expected the barge to bypass Kodiak after its last visit, with a resupply stop scheduled ahead of this past weekend. But snowstorms and gusty weather, including hurricane-force winds, scuttled those plans. “In my entire career, I’ve never seen two successive bypasses,” said Mike Murray, the store director of Kodiak’s Safeway.
Mat-Su schools will be closed Tuesday due to a blizzard causing power outages and hazardous driving conditions.
A culvert collapse closed the road at Mile 8 from 9 p.m. Friday until one lane reopened at 10 a.m. Sunday. The culvert was washed out by heavy snowmelt.
Fairbanks' May 10 temperature was two degrees below the daily record, while snow melt from an above-normal year is flooding Interior rivers.
Schools in Southcentral Alaska are closed due to a snowstorm and power outages, with the Seward Highway being deemed "impassable" and numerous vehicles stranded.
As of Sunday nearly 60 inches of snow fell in Haines in the last 8 days. That total was higher in some parts of town and more snow is in the forecast.
A historically powerful storm slammed into Western Alaska Friday night and into Saturday, bringing major flooding and high winds to a huge swath of coastal communities. By Saturday evening, the state said it had received no reports of injuries or deaths related to the storm. But damage had torn across hundreds of miles of Alaska’s coastline impacting communities all along the way. Alaskans described water flooding homes and roads. Wind tore off roofs. Houses floated off their foundations. Boats sank.
It’s a dramatic drop from this winter’s balmy start, but this is a normal weather pattern for this time of year.
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No residents had been reported injured or missing, and power had been restored to most impacted homes. City officials had also carved a path so residents can travel in the area by snowmachine.
Heavy rains toppled trees and buried roads on Prince of Wales Island Monday. Local and state transportation crews are responding to at least seven landslides blocking roads on the Southeast Alaska island.
One reading on the Hillside clocked winds reaching 91 miles per hour. The day saw reports of property damage, road closures and downed power lines.LEO Note: According to Rick Thoman of NWS, these are unusually high winds for April.
Starting Thursday, the Department of Transportation will begin repairing Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway. The warm winter has wreaked similar havoc on highways across Alaska.
Flooding on Willow Creek Saturday night and Sunday has led to seven families being evacuated, with five people taking shelter at the Willow Community Center. The Willow Fire Department, Mat-Su Animal Care and the Mat-Su Water Rescue Team organized to assist those impacted by the flood.
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