The Northwest Arctic village of Buckland is experiencing major flooding. Yesterday the National Weather Service reported that 80% of the community was flooded, and residents were using boats to get around.
Flooding is a yearly event for the community of over 500 people, but residents say this year it came faster than expected — and the water is still rising.
“It rose in like a 12-hour time,” said Nathan Hadley Jr., president of the Northwest Arctic Borough Assembly and a lifelong Buckland resident. “The whole village went under, but it's not over yet.”
Hadley said the flooding typically lasts two to three days, but the community is now on day four.
Buckland Vice Mayor Timothy Gavin Jr. said the flooding has subsided a bit over the last day, but he’s closely watching an ice jam on cameras upstream of the village. Gavin estimates it’s about three miles long, about a mile and a half from the community.
“Once this ice comes down, it may back up and come up again, or it may just push it," said Gavin. “No one knows. Keep watching and listening.”
Depending on how the ice jam breaks up, Gavin said the town might have to deal with more water.
“You have to realize we do this every year, so it's natural to us,” Gavin said. “I’d say 80% of people are sleeping, but once it starts coming it'll be announced on VHF, and then the whole town will get lively.”
Gavin said he has slept about five hours in the last few days and will continue monitoring the river. He encouraged Buckland residents to monitor their VHF for updates.
