[IN VIDEO] Houses swept away, waves of 3 meters, floods: Alaska hit by a storm of rare power

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A storm of rare power hits western Alaska, causing huge waves and flooding that washed away homes, the US Weather Services (NWS) said Saturday. > 

“The remnants of Typhoon Merbok will hit western Alaska (…) over the weekend, with extreme waves, gusts of the force of a hurricane, coastal erosion, and heavy rains,” they wrote on Twitter.

“The flooding will get worse,” they added.

“Hands down the strongest storm this early in the fall that we have seen in the Bering Sea in the past 50 years,” they added. Rick Thoman, climate scientist at the University of Alaska told AFP.

Name AK right now. #Alaska #weather #storm #Nome #flood pic.twitter.com/6iK4U3dVJp

— bradfordsmithauthor (@BradfordSmithAK) September 17, 2022

In the coastal village of Golovin, “water surrounds the school, houses are flooded, at least two houses are floating,” described municipal services in Fairbanks, Alaska's second-largest city.

< p>Images posted on social media show extensive damage.

Video taken on September 17, 2022 at 1321 in Nome, AK. Fierce storm that has battered most of Western Alaska overnight and continues to cause havoc in multiple rural villages. pic.twitter.com/VwU4L1xk3y

— Brenton K (@UpInNome) September 17, 2022

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

Gusts of up to 145 km/h have been recorded, according to the NWS, which predicts others, even stronger.

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The flood warning remains in effect until Saturday 22:00 (Sunday 06:00 GMT) in the southern coastal areas and until Sunday 8:30 am in the northern regions, towards which the storm is heading, said the meteorological services on Facebook.