A storm of rare power is hitting western Alaska, causing huge waves and flooding that have washed away homes, the US Weather Services (NWS) said on Saturday.
“The remnants of Typhoon Merbok will hit western Alaska…over the weekend, with extreme surf, hurricane-force gusts, coastal erosion, and severe rains”, they specified on Twitter.
“The floods will get worse,” they added.
“This is hands down the strongest early fall storm we’ve seen in the Bering Sea in 50 years,” University of Alaska climate scientist Rick Thoman told AFP.
In the coastal village of Golovin, “water surrounds the school, houses are flooded, at least two houses are floating,” described municipal services in Fairbanks, Alaska’s second-largest city.
Images posted on social media show extensive damage. CNN released a video showing a house floating on a river before getting stuck under a bridge.
The NWS describes ‘very angry seas’ along the coast around Nome, with 3.3 meter waves.
Gusts of up to 145 km / h have been recorded, according to the NWS, which predicts others, even stronger.
The flood alert remains in effect until 10 p.m. Saturday (6 a.m. GMT Sunday) in southern coastal areas and until 8:30 a.m. Sunday in northern regions, where the storm is heading, weather services said on Facebook.