On 10 October 2006, the City of Valdez was hammered by a major flooding event. The jet stream turned directly towards Prince William Sound, carrying moist, warm air directly at us. There was one twenty-four hour period here were in rained over 5 inches. Up until 10 October, the rain had been steady and the saturated ground couldn't handle the additional loading. The warm rain also melted a lot of the snowpack.
The main (only) road out of Valdez is the Richardson Highway. It is about 310 miles from Valdez to Anchorage. The flooding took two major bridges located about two miles from my house. There were probably six bridges taken out by swollen rivers within 50 miles of Valdez. There is no road access out of town for the foreseeable future. The State of Alaska has boosted the ferry schedule and Era Aviation has added another daily flight to help with transportation.
A little closer to home, the flood control levee protecting our own subdivision failed at about 1500 and threatened a number of neighborhood homes. About 100 people were evacuated overnight as the water levels rose. The State placed a temporary repair in the levee at about 2200 and the waters have greatly receded today. Most damage was limited to washed out roads and flooded basements. Our house survived the incident in good shape.
The photos are of Keystone Canyon showing damage to the roadbed and one of the bridges. It will be a while before they can fix this!
Labels: Alaska
7 Comments:
Good Grief - that's frightening.
Keep safe.
Yes, too frightening. Flood is an annual event in my country but I have never seen something like this.
Wow... those are some good pictures. Flooding can be pretty traumatic for people, creatures, and the environment.
I don't think I've run across many Alaskan blogs. I've always thought it would be an interesting place to visit.
I found you on absolute write and just wanted to check out your blog.
Cheers!
WOW! That first photo is graphic. Did you take it yourself? It would certainly be a frightening place to be
I didn't have time to find the camera. We were doing a little sandbagging around the house. It all worked out well. No damage. Had our water tested and no problems. It was an amazing amount of water.
Frightening is putting it mildly. I have never seen or experienced anything like this and hope I never have to. Awesome pictures though.
I'm so glad you were spared any damage and everyone is ok.
The awesome power of nature never ceases to amaze me. It seems that there are no structures man can build that are immune. Glad you're OK!
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