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Napakiak Faces Third Storm in a Week After Severe Flooding Catches Residents Off Guard

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Residents of Napakiak, Alaska, brace for the third storm in a week following severe flooding that left homes swamped and required rescue efforts using a front loader.

Bollywood Fever: Storm-battered residents of Napakiak, a small Yup’ik village in western Alaska, are bracing for the third storm in a week on Tuesday, just days after severe flooding left many stranded and in need of rescue.

The village, home to about 350 residents in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, experienced significant flooding on Sunday after heavy rains caused the Kuskokwim River to swell. 

The conditions leading up to the flood were already challenging, with strong winds and relentless rain, according to Job Hale, the minister of the Armory of God Baptist Church. 

The situation took a turn for the worse when river currents unexpectedly pushed water into the town.

“It caught everyone by surprise because it wasn’t the normal spring or fall flooding that we usually prepare for,” Hale explained. 

Napakiak Faces Third Storm in a Week After Severe Flooding Catches Residents Off Guard

Residents scrambled to move vehicles to higher ground, secure firewood from beneath their raised homes, and protect water tanks.

Hale, who owns a front loader, became a crucial figure in the rescue efforts. With water levels reaching 3 feet or more and flooding homes, he used the front loader to transport residents from their flooded homes to safety. 

“There were several people that actually got stuck in their homes,” Hale said. On three separate occasions, he maneuvered the front loader to residents’ doors, allowing them to climb into the bucket for a ride to dry ground. 

He also used the equipment to rescue a person who required medical assistance. Many residents told him they couldn’t remember flooding this severe in recent years.

Although the water began to recede on Sunday night, parts of the village remained swamped two days later.

Erosion has been a long-standing issue in Napakiak and other Alaska communities, where climate change has exacerbated the problem. 

Warming temperatures are melting permafrost—permanently frozen soil—leading to unstable riverbanks. Napakiak has seen as much as 100 feet of riverbank eroded in a single year. 

The erosion is so severe that the village school had to be closed this year because it was at risk of falling into the river. 

Plans are in place to demolish the building, with students attending classes in temporary facilities until a new school, being constructed farther from the river, is completed next summer, according to superintendent Andrew Anderson.

In an ironic twist, Sunday’s flooding forced the cancellation of a farewell party for the old school.

The recent storms also caused coastal flooding in other western Alaska communities, though state emergency officials reported no significant health issues or major property damage.

Napakiak, located about 10 miles southwest of Bethel—southwest Alaska’s hub community—is only accessible by road during the winter when the river freezes over, turning it into a temporary highway.

The third storm, expected later on Tuesday, is the remnant of typhoon Ampil, forecast to impact parts of Alaska’s west coast. 

While this storm is not expected to be as intense as the weekend’s, Christian Landry, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Anchorage, warned that the Bethel area will experience another round of precipitation and gusty winds as the system moves north toward Nome.

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