Powerful Alaska Storm Threatens to Cut People Off From Supplies

As remnants of Typhoon Merbok move over the Bering Sea, residents of western Alaska will be impacted. The biggest risk is flooding, and Alaskans living in remote areas along the western coast could be cut off from supplies through Sunday. This weekend could bring some of the most powerful storms the state has seen in the past 50 years to the coastal area.

National Weather Service (NWS) Fairbanks Office meteorologist Scott Berg told Newsweek that severe floods could cut some coastal communities off from supplies. Many coastal Alaskan communities don't have roads connecting them to larger cities, and supplies and people must be flown in or brought in on boats. In some cases, beaches, which are more likely to flood, act as the runways. If runways flood, people will be stranded.

"The biggest impact out there is going to be flooding around homes and then over and around runways," Berg said. "That impacts the ability of people to get in or out of there since there's no roads that lead back into major towns like Fairbanks or Anchorage."

Berg said the NWS expects the runways to be impacted by floods and deemed inoperable. If that is the case, planes won't be able to deliver supplies to the impacted areas. High winds are expected to accompany the storms, with some gusts reaching up to 90 miles per hour. The winds have potential to damage power lines, which could leave people stranded without power. Berg told Newsweek that many homes along the western coast are built in low-lying areas and therefore are on stilts. If floods rise around those homes, the residents will be trapped inside.

Runways haven't been impacted as of Friday morning, but Berg said winds are starting to pick up. He expects flood conditions to begin this afternoon.

"There is still a bit of time for people to prepare—if they're trying to get stuff from somewhere else to fly in, it's too late—but they can locally prepare for these storms," he said.

Berg encouraged Alaskan residents in the risk areas to secure their boats and items around their homes to prepare for the floods. He said in the worst-case scenario, flood waters may not recede until Sunday.

"It might be Monday or Tuesday before the water clears out and they can get out and check runways and do that stuff to have people come in," he told Newsweek.

Berg said Alaskan residents are often equipped to wait out a storm with floods impacting travel.

"A lot of people are able to sit back and deal with this stuff for a week or two before it becomes a problem," he said. "It's not like the big city where people go shopping every day."

Berg said local emergency agencies will be equipped to respond if emergencies arise. The New York Times reported schools and other buildings have been established as emergency shelters if needed.