[EN VIDÉO] Homes swept, waves 3 meters high, floods: Alaska is hit by a rare storm of strength

On Saturday, the US Weather Services said that a rare storm hit western Alaska, causing huge waves and flooding that washed away homes.

Remnants of Hurricane Merbok hit western Alaska […] Over the weekend with heavy waves, hurricanes, coastal erosion and torrential rain.”

“The floods will only get worse,” they added.

“This is the strongest storm, in early autumn, seen in the Bering Sea in the last 50 years,” AFP climate scientist Rick Thomann told AFP. University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Municipal services in Fairbanks, Alaska’s second largest city, described in the coastal village of Golovin, “Water surrounds the school, homes are flooded, and at least two homes are floating.”

Pictures posted on social media show extensive damage.

The NWS describes “very angry seas” along the coast around Nome, with waves of 3.3 meters.

Wind gusts of up to 145 km/h have been recorded, according to the NWS, which is predicting stronger ones.

A flood warning will remain in effect until 10 p.m. Saturday (6 a.m. GMT Sunday) in southern coastal areas and until 8:30 a.m. Sunday in northern regions, as the storm is heading, Facebook Meteorological Services said.