Norton Sound communities continue storm cleanup
More than a week has passed since ex-typhoon Merbok crashed atop western Alaska. Norton Sound communities suffered the most damage and as of press time, many were still under boil water notices, struggling to clean debris and some were still inundated. All the villages flexed their resilience, preparing for the next storm.
As waters receded and the extent of the damage became clear, City offices across the region had a feeling of urgency, busier than they were the Monday after the storm.
Stebbins
City Administrator Daisy Lockwood-Katcheak explained that they had done a walkthrough of the community with the Red Cross, the National Guard, and FEMA. As flood waters receded, they began to understand the magnitude of the damage.
They went house to house through the disaster area and noted a “considerable amount of damage to the school seawall.” The school’s waterpipes were also damaged, and the building is under a boil water notice. Eight families were displaced and are staying with family members across the community.
Despite all of this, Stebbins told the National Guard that other villages needed the assistance more. All villages received $100,000 from NSEDC to help in the recovery, and Stebbins has put that money towards hiring local laborers to clear debris and put the community back together. Lockwood-Katcheak said they needed help for building infrastructure, including safe access routes out of dangerous areas during future storms.
“We’re pretty resilient out here,” she said. “We need help with water, road, and seawall structures.”
The community is still clearing debris and the three local organizations have been pooling their resources. She also gave a shoutout to the teachers at the Stebbins school for helping the displaced families.
Marine mammals also were affected by the storm. About three miles south of town, two beluga whales, a mother and calf, were stranded in a lake after the floods receded. To the hunters, that’s not a fair kill, Lockwood-Katcheak said. The stranded marine mammals were reported, and NOAA was said to be reaching out to Stebbins about the options.
Saint Michael
At the city offices in Saint Michael, the clerk put the phone on speaker and Flora Matthias, Virginia Washington, and Bernadette Joe all chimed in about the situation.
The biggest challenge remains the erosion and exposed permafrost. The National Guard was in town making sandbags, because as the village has no heavy equipment and thus they can’t rebuild a seawall with boulders. The National Guard is trying to reinforce a house on the edge of the water by repacking it with the sand that continues to erode everywhere else. Erosion was eating out at the ground around the Old Russian Cemetery, and they said that coffins were falling away, prime targets for dogs to get into.
The team behind the SCERP, short for Small Community Emergency Response Plan, was still in the
process of prioritizing what needed to be done going forward. At the top of that list were the evacuated houses. One is being supported by the National Guard, but three more are on the verge of falling into the sea, they said.
Next on that list was replacing lost subsistence items, including one freezer at the evacuated house, two fish racks in the community, three smoke houses and a boat.
The powerlines between Saint Michael and Stebbins are still leaning heavily.
Unalakleet
Mayor Thomas Simonsson explained that the biggest challenges now are power, water and erosion around the roads and runways.
In an email to the Nugget, he shared a report from UVEC, the local power corporation, about the extent of their damages. It detailed the locations of flooded junction boxes, sectionalizers, transformers and the impacts these had on the community. The report suggested moving one of the powerlines inland, which would allow for more resilient powering of the city’s water plant.
On top of the damages to the power infrastructure, Simonsson wrote, “we are still working on securing a solid power backup for our water plant. The water lines are intact, but the main power and the backup is still very unstable or not in place.
“We are pumping water to our tank to make sure we fill it while we have power, but we do not have the quality water we need. We are on Boil Water Notice and we are getting fresh water flown in by BIA every two weeks or so to my understanding. The water in our system is good for flushing, washing, showering etc. but not suitable for raw consumption.”
The impacts to the runways, which faces both erosion and flooding, impacts more than just Unalakleet, because the community also serves as a hub. “The issue of erosion is putting our infrastructure at risk and thus the supply chain to the villages,” Simonsson wrote.
Going forward, looking to the next storm, Simonsson said that “we hope to have good conversations with the Corps as they visit, and to get assistance through FEMA.”
Shaktoolik
The biggest concern on many people’s minds was the berm in Shaktoolik, which saved the village from serious harm during this storm but was destroyed in the process. “There’s still a sense of urgency because we don’t have the berm in front of the village,” said
Mayor Lars Sookiayak. “We had an assessment done trying to get everything squared away and hopefully get aid.”
Tumet is coming in early October to help with the berm and to clear the road. They will be bringing in the heavy equipment to do so, something many villages don’t have.
The berm wasn’t the only main concern, as access to the freshwater source is literally eroding away. Sookiayak noted that the septic systems also took a hit by the debris washed ashore and will need repairs.
A community meeting was planned for Tuesday, to get people’s input on what to do next. Everyone was safe after this storm, but Sookiayak
said that “people are afraid for their lives because there’s no place to run. We literally had no place to run.” Koyuk
On Tuesday morning, the National Guard was on the beach in Koyuk cleaning up debris, especially wood with nails, as at least five fish racks in town got destroyed. Darold Dewey, a city councilmember, explained that they had finally gotten a truck and loader going, the city and Guard will still be cleaning up the beach and waste sites.
While Koyuk wasn’t on a boil water notice, the lift station isn’t far from the river, and Dewey called the wastewater cleanup a “major” effort.
The biggest challenge, as the vice mayor had said in the days after the storm, was finding the heavy equipment to continue cleaning. “We were blessed because we had an ongoing project with ANTHC on water and sewer, and have a barge coming up with equipment,” Dewey said. The city council also had a meeting with FEMA, and the Red Cross was in the community talking with individuals.
Dewey said that this is the kind of storm that they expect later in the year, but without a freeze, the high water was a new challenge. Are they prepared for the next storm? Dewey was candid. “No.”
Elim
Elim was one of two villages that couldn’t be reached the Monday after the storm, but even when finally reached Tuesday morning the following week, acting City Clerk Clarence Saccheus was still very busy. He explained the situation from the first week plus of the storm and response.
At first, there was a lot of damage to Front Street in Elim, and some of the pavement was washed away. Wood piled in, and up, and one home was in danger of falling over due to the erosion. Sand and wood flowed in and boats and motors flowed out. Cabins washed away and fishing gear was lost.
In the 10 days since Merbok hit, Elim has gotten a lot of visitors. The Governor, Senator Murkowski, the State Emergency Operations Center. Now that they’re aware of the resources, Saccheus said, the City and IRA are busy getting the paperwork together to file for emergency response funding. This, he says, is the biggest challenge. “That’s a major issue right now,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to get funding for lost items.”
It isn’t the only issue, either. The storm erosion exposed the sewer outflow, and the community’s water source is less than 1,000 feet from the creek. Because of the inundation, Elim issued a boil water notice, which they have since gotten off. The water source has been underwater before, and it is an issue he hopes to resolve in the future.
Like many in the region, Saccheus said Elim wasn’t prepared for the next storm. “Nope.”
They need rocks, he said. Their seawall had a lot of damage to it, and, again, like many others, they don’t have enough heavy equipment, either. “We’re grateful the IRA has some heavy equipment, which has been helping the restoration of Front Street.”
Calls to White Mountain remained unsuccessful and got the same “all circuits are busy now” message.