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Photos: River Watch monitors breakup on Kuskokwim River

BETHEL – So far this breakup season, it's a "mushout" on Alaska's two longest rivers, the Yukon and the Kuskokwim.

But even as river ice slowly melts in place, state emergency managers and federal river experts are continuing a long tradition of monitoring for signs of ice jams and floods. They call the effort River Watch, a partnership between the state and the National Weather Service that dates back more than 30 years.

Teams started flying over the Kuskokwim River on Friday and along the Yukon on Saturday to look for rising water levels, ice jams and new pressure ridges along the ice pack. They provide information straight back to communities by radio, phone calls and Twitter, said Amanda Loach, a state emergency management specialist leading the Kuskokwim River Watch team working out of Bethel.

"Good morning, Akiak," said Peter Atchak, a Bethel volunteer flying with the team on Tuesday. Atchak, the former longtime leader of Bethel Search and Rescue, relayed river reports to villages by radio, sometimes speaking in Yup'ik. "We are right above you." he told Akiak. There was ice down river, he reported.

Read more: Slow, steady melt makes breakup a 'mushout' on Kuskokwim and Yukon rivers

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