As another storm hits Northwest Alaska, feds free up $9 million for typhoon damage repairs

Coastal communities in Northwest Alaska, already battered by a powerful storm less than three weeks ago, were experiencing high winds Thursday and bracing for more flooding as a new storm system hammers the region.

High winds were expected to dissipate by Friday, but water levels far above normal high tide weren’t expected to peak until Friday evening, forecasters said. Scattered reports of roof and window damage or blowing debris were emerging including from residents in Point Lay, Point Hope, Wales and Kivalina, where one of the first homes built in the village collapsed.

“There has been some reports of minor damage in some communities,” said Jeremy Zidek, spokesman for the state’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. “We’re gonna continue to monitor it and reach out to communities once the storms have passed.”

State officials say the Alaska National Guard and Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities are on alert to provide assistance if necessary.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, along with cabinet members and meteorology experts, advised residents in communities along the Bering and Chukchi seas to prepare for the unusual storm system that strengthened over far eastern Russia before arriving in Northwest Alaska.

The new storm comes on the heels of the destructive remnants of Typhoon Merbok, which last month left a path of destruction in Western Alaska, washing out roads and flooding homes in 40 communities along about 1,300 miles of Alaska’s coast, according to a federal summary. The storm produced hurricane-force winds, higher-than-normal tidal ranges and storm surges of up to 10 feet above mean high water.

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday announced the release of $9 million in “quick release” emergency relief funds to help repair damaged roads and bridges.

Much of that money has already been spent repairing “substantial damage” to roads in Nome, said Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities spokeswoman Shannon McCarthy.

“Front Street was essentially destroyed,” McCarthy said, adding that the money was also used to fill a gap in the Nome-Council Highway breached by high water.

State transportation officials provided the federal government with initial costs for temporary repairs, then started on the fixes before the arrival of the funds, which are freed up by state and federal disaster declarations, she said.

The new storm began hitting Northwest Alaska overnight into Thursday.

The highest gusts reported so far were 90 mph at Cape Lisburne — an exposed point jutting into the Arctic Ocean north of Point Hope — and at about 2,000 feet elevation in the Brooks Range, where a 96 mph gust was recorded early Thursday, according to Bobby Bianco, a Fairbanks-based meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Winds were expected to start dying down Friday afternoon.

A number of communities along the coast were experiencing gale- or storm-force gusts including Shaktoolik, with winds reported over 60 mph at times, Bianco said. A marine buoy off Savoonga registered a 75 mph gust.

High winds peeled back the roofing tin on the NANA office building in Kivalina. A resident there watched as his window shattered, ruining his couch with glass pieces.

In Point Hope, Steve Oomittuk said he lost some roofing and had to tie down his stove oil tank. But others didn’t get the chance.

“Some people’s tanks blew away, broke their fuel lines,” Oomittuk said Thursday.

The wind destroyed one of the first homes built in Kivalina, according to Frances Douglas. The house, which was uninhabited, belonged to her grandfather.

“It has been slowly rotting. It was gonna collapse sooner or later,” Douglas said. “It was a pretty sturdy structure for being so old. It couldn’t handle the wind, I guess. I was fortunate that it didn’t just fly up — the roofing or the walls or plywood or anything.”

The school roof in Wales is damaged, too, according to Zidek.

The storm was also causing some rising waters along the coast.

Nome was starting to experience water levels about a foot above normal by Thursday morning, Bianco said. “We’re expecting that to continue to rise through tomorrow night.”

Water levels in some places could peak 4 or 5 feet above normal high tide before diminishing Saturday, he added.

By Thursday afternoon, the winds have peaked for most areas south of Point Hope, said Jonathan Chriest, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, in a video update Thursday.

However, areas from Cape Lisburne northward were expected to see winds picking up Thursday evening and through early Friday.

“We can still expect gusts near 70 mph near Wainwright and near 60 mph in Utqiaġvik, and those ones have been ramping up the past couple of hours,” Chriest said. “We expect those to continue to ramp up this evening, reaching their peaks in early late later this evening and early tonight.”

A coastal flood warning remains in effect for the areas north of the Bering Strait. In Chukchi Sea coast communities such as Kivalina and Shishmaref, water levels are expected to rise 3 to 5 feet above the normal tideline. For areas along the northwest Arctic coast, forecasters predict water levels 5 to 7 feet above the normal highest tideline.

“We expect low-lying areas to flood and significant coastal erosion is expected. There may be damage to fishing or hunting camps along the coast,” Chriest said. “The water is still rising. It hasn’t reached levels of the expected damage caused by it yet but the remainder of the coastal flooding is still to go. Just because there’s no damage yet, doesn’t mean that there is not going to be.”

Daily News reporter Zachariah Hughes contributed to this story.