US: Powerful storm strikes Alaska

A historic storm is currently hitting Alaska. On social networks, people are posting images of severe flooding in their areas.

“The remnants of Typhoon Merbok will hit western Alaska (…) over the weekend, with extreme waves, gusts of wind from the force of a hurricane, coastal erosion, and heavy rains,” the US Weather Service (NWS) said Saturday.

“The flooding is going to get worse,” they added. “It’s definitely the strongest storm this early in the fall ever seen in the Bering Sea in the last 50 years,” University of Alaska climate specialist Rick Thoman told AFP.

In the coastal village of Golovin, “the water surrounds the school, houses are flooded, at least two houses are floating,” said municipal officials in Fairbanks, Alaska’s second largest city.

The images published on social networks show considerable damage. CNN released a video showing a house floating on a river before it was trapped under a bridge.

Gusts up to 145 km/h and waves of 3 meters

The NWS describes “a very angry sea” along the coast around Nome, with waves of 3.3 meters. Wind gusts of up to 145 km/h have been recorded, according to the NWS, which expects even stronger gusts.

The flood alert remains in effect until Saturday 22:00 (Sunday 6:00 GMT) in the southern coastal areas and until Sunday 8:30 in the northern regions, where the storm is headed, weather services said on Facebook.