Coastal Flood in Alaska, November 8 to 10, 2011

A 960 mb low over the southern Aleutians at 0300AKST on the 8th intensified to 945 mb near the Gulf of Anadyr by 2100AKST on the 8th. The low crossed the Chukotsk Peninsula as a 956 mb low at 0900AKST on the 9th, and moved into the southern Chukchi Sea as a 958 mb low by 2100AKST on the 9th. The low then tracked to the northwest and weakened to 975 mb about 150 miles north of Wrangel Island by 1500AKST on the 10th. The storm was one of the strongest storms to impact the west coast of Alaska since November 1974.

Zone 207: Minor coastal flooding was observed at Shishmaref from approximately 1200AKST on the 9th through 0300AKST on the 10th. Approximately 20 to 30 feet of the shoreline was washed away. Water surrounded a house, but did not inundate the structure. Water was reported to have spilled over the bank and flooded areas along the west end of the village near the airport, but there were no reports of any structures that were flooded.

At Kivalina, Water flooded the lowest lying areas of the village, with flooding reported at the village dump site between the ocean and the lagoon. No homes or structures were flooded. The Red Dog Dock tide gauge crested at 5.46 ft above the normal mean low water level at 0042AKST on the 10th. The Red Dog Dock gauge is located approximately 17 miles down the coast from Kivalina.

Zone 211: Coastal flooding was observed at Nome and Golovin, and likely occurred in many uninhabited areas along the southern Seward Peninsula Coast. The coastal flooding at Nome began around 2300AKST on the 8th and continued through 01000AKST on the 10th. The water reached its highest peak at 1624AKST on the 9th, and the Nome Tide gage observed a maximum height of 8.73 feet above the normal mean low water level. The water levels at Nome peaked about 2 feet lower than during a major Bering Sea storm in November 1974. Low lying areas in Nome such as River Street, F Street and Belmont Point flooded. Dry Creek was wet and looked like a lake all the way to Chicken Hill. Waves crashed over the Nome seawall armor rock on East Front Street and deposited rocks, driftwood and other debris on the road. Water running into wet wells at the Sewer and water treatment plant overwhelmed the pumps, causing 165,000 gallons of raw wastewater flow into the emergency discharge to the small boat harbor. Some businesses on Front Street had water in their basements, but flooding in the main business district was minor. The Cape Nome Jetty sustained $500,000 worth of damage and another $80,000 is attributed to damages due to wave action and erosion, according to the City of Nome. Portions of the Nome-Council road suffered significant damage, especially beyond mile 25 where large portions of the road were either washed out or covered in a significant amount of debris. It is estimated that the damages to the road alone were approximately 24 million dollars. The storm caused schools in Nome to close early on the 8th and they were shut on the 9th. Many in Nome compared the storm to the storms of November 1974 and October 2004.

At Golovin, the coastal flooding began approximately 0300AKST on the 9th and continued until 1400AKST on the 10th. It is estimated that the water levels peaked at 7.4 feet above the normal mean low water levels at 1900AKST on the 9th. In Golovin, many of the downtown areas were flooded and the phone company facility was submerged. Water flooded many home in the downtown area. Ice driven by the storm surge moved into a campsite 6 miles northeast of Golovin on the lagoon side of the village and destroyed 4 cabins and damaged fish racks.

Zone 212: At Saint Michael, coastal flooding began at approximately 0800AKST on the 9th and continued until the early morning hours of the 10th. It was estimated that the maximum surge was 6 to 8 feet above the normal mean low water levels. Water several feet deep was observed flowing over one of the main village roads on the southwest side of the village. After the water receded there were about 20 large chunks of ice that required heavy equipment to remove from the road. There was a fishing camp about 2 to 3 miles from the village that was completely destroyed by the flood waters and large chunks of ice. Fish racks along the beach were completely destroyed.

At Koyuk, Front street was under water at 1310AKST on the 9th. The water contained a significant amount of ice chunks. The water began to recede by around 1800AKST. All of the fish racks were destroyed along the beach on the east side of the village, and some of the racks were destroyed along the beach on the west side of the village.

At Elim, there were reports of water flowing through the village, but there were no reports received of any damages. The tundra to the north of Elim was reported to all be under water during the afternoon on the 9th.

At Stebbins, local law enforcement reported during the afternoon on the 9th that there was coastal flooding with a lot of water around the village, but no reports that any structures were flooded.

Zone 213: Minor coastal flooding was observed at Gambell and it was estimated that the water levels rise about 8 to 10 feet above the normal mean low water levels with waves that were estimated to be about 20 feet. The water rose to the end of the airstrip with some water over the runway during the afternoon of the 9th.

At Wales, minor coastal flooding was observed during the afternoon and evening of the 9th by the school and old naval station. The water entered the creek and flooded the lagoon on the back side of the village. The water levels likely peaked during the late evening hours of the 9th.

At Brevig Mission, minor coastal flooding was observed during the afternoon of the 9th with water flooding along the lagoon side of the village. The storm ripped out a submerged cable between Brevig Mission and Teller. The cable is one of two cables that supplies power from Brevig Mission to Teller.

At Diomede, the waves were estimated to be 30 feet high and coastal flooding was observed. The water treatment plant was flooded, and waves shoved logs into the side of the water treatment plant damaging the entry door. Empty fuel tanks were pushed by the water into power poles. Cabins were damaged on the south side of the village. Two shipping container vans which are the size of mobile homes were swept out to sea. The container vans were filled with building materials and were relocated to the helicopter pad which is one of the higher spots in the village. A temporary construction road along the beach was filled with boulders and driftwood was piled up along the beach. The worst of the flooding was observed from the evening of the 9th into the early morning hours of the 10th.

At Teller, minor coastal flooding was observed as water moved over the top of the seawall. The most significant flooding was out at the spit where several hundred yards were washed over and the beach side road was flooded. Water filled the low areas around the school and clinic. The worst conditions were observed during the evening hours of the 9th into the early morning hours of the 10th. A 26 year old male is presumed drowned from the storm when he drove his four-wheeler into large waves bashing the spit north of the village.

Zone 214: Water levels rose an estimated 5 feet above the normal mean low water levels at KotliK on the morning of the 9th and crested at approximately 1130AKST. The water levels then fell rapidly after 1330AKST and within a couple of hours were back to normal. The storm caused water levels to rise significantly in the lower Yukon river with high water levels at Scammon Bay and Alakanuk. Water levels also rose significantly at Nunam Iqua and at 1515AKST the water level crested at the top of the river bank. There were reports of over flow covering the roadway to the airport that cut off the village from the airport.