Most Of Yukon Delta Village Submerged By Tidal Flooding: "The Worst One We've Seen Yet"

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An aerial view of the flooding in Kwigillingok on June 24, 2021. (Photo courtesy of Jesse Igkurak)


Kwigillingok, a community on the Bering Sea coast of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, is used to some flooding during high tides. But in recent years, that flooding has grown more severe, reaching a new threshold last week.

The flooding began Friday morning, as the high tide began rising. “This is the worst one we’ve seen yet,” said Gary Evon, the environmental coordinator for the Native Village of Kwigillingok. Aerial photographs published on Facebook show a majority of the community submerged in water. One photo shows someone rafting around the village using a shovel as a paddle.

The town’s buildings are raised up on pilings, so Evon said that water did not enter any structures. But 6 inches of water covered the ground beneath. Much of the community’s boardwalk was underwater last Thursday, but Evon said that residents have enough walkways to get around the village. On Friday, Evon said that the village was being flooded again with the next high tide.

A little flooding is nothing new in Kwigillingok, but what is new is the increased severity of tidal flooding in recent years. Evon said that it’s due to a changing environment. “With warming climate, melting permafrost and land subsidence,” Evon said.


A person in Kwigillingok paddles through the community while it’s flooded. (Photo courtesy of Jesse Igkurak)


EDIT

https://www.alaskapublic.org/2021/06/27/southwest-alaska-community-on-bering-sea-coast-experiences-severe-flooding/