Kuskokwim floodwaters recede, but threat remains downriver

Water quickly surged through the village Sunday night, catching some people by surprise. More than two-thirds of the village flooded, Zidek said.

Meantime, the National Weather Service on Thursday warned villages downriver of Crooked Creek, like Napaimiut, Aniak and Kalskag, that they could be next.

People in those villages were urged to move their vehicles to high ground and store water, among other preparations.

In Crooked Creek, some 50 people evacuated the town Monday morning, moving to the nearby Donlin Creek Mine by a helicopter and plane provided by the mine.

Others remained behind in the village. The school has its own generator and was not flooded. But most power in the village was out.

The state sent in a team Thursday to help inspect homes and public facilities and figure out what needs to be done next.

A state technical expert and a spill team from Donlin Creek Mine were also dealing Thursday with a 200-gallon fuel spill at the Crooked Creek airport, said Zidek. He didn't know what kind of fuel or where it came from.

The American Red Cross of Alaska and the state have flown supplies like baby formula and bottles of drinking water to Crooked Creek and Donlin Creek Mine, Zidek and a Red Cross representative said.

Residents of other Kuskokwim River villages, meantime, were watching and waiting.

Lenore Kameroff, financial director for the traditional council in Aniak, said residents there have been moving their snowmachines and other vehicles up to the high school, which is on a hill.

At least one person moved his dog team up there too, she said.

Kameroff's family piled all their wood up and strapped it together, and put bicycles and four-wheelers up off the ground onto the pad their house sits on.

"Everybody's been watching the river since Monday," she said. "It's just awful having to wait."

Reach Rosemary Shinohara at rshinohara@adn.com or 257-4340.