Anchorage Daily News

Lower Yukon River villagers in Emmonak and Alakanuk, braced for an onslaught of floodwaters that devastated villages up river earlier this month, have been spared, according to the National Weather Service.

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Though waters rose as much as four feet in some places early Sunday, they were on their way down later in the day. The Weather Service said the worst flooding had passed.

"It wasn't anywhere as severe as we were fearing," said Ben Balk, a Weather Service hydrologist.

A flood warning was issued Saturday for all villages downriver from Russian Mission, but was scaled back Sunday to include only Emmonak and Alakanuk, two villages near the mouth of the Yukon.

Water levels were expected to fluctuate in the villages, but would not surpass usual break-up flooding. Balk said tundra and tributaries were able to absorb some of the water before it reached the villages. Springtime floods are common in the area, and most dwellings in the villages are built on pilings.

Emmonak has more than 700 residents and Alakanuk has over 600.

In Emmonak, the city had to turn off the power generator for several hours because the water was rising past its floor, said city manager Martin B. Moore Sr. Two or three houses had some minor damage, he said.

Flooding on the Yukon River has been worse than normal this year in communities upstream because of a larger-than-normal volume of snow melt and somewhat thicker river ice. Damage was heavy and residents were displaced in several villages, including Eagle and Eagle Village, Stevens Village and Tanana.

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