Flood — Upr Tanana Vly Fortymile, Alaska

2009-05-04 to 2009-05-07 · near Eagle, Upr Tanana Vly Fortymile, Alaska

Wider weather episode

A flood of historic proportions began in Eagle along the Yukon River around 2 am on the morning of the 4th. In the week leading up to the flood, temperatures were unseasonably warm as a strong ridge of high pressure developed along the Alaska-Yukon border on April 27th and persisted until May 3rd. In fact, record high temperatures were either tied or broken on the 4 days preceding the flood. The record warmth caused side streams to fill the river channel before the ice on the river broke apart. When it finally broke, it created large chunks of ice, some the size of small houses that jammed together and created dams of water as the ice jam shifted and broke apart during the next two days. The ice was unusually thick in the Eagle area, and up to 7 feet in some locations along the river. By noon on the 4th, the old village of Eagle was flooded with water halfway up most houses, and some houses had water up to their roofs. Parts of Eagle were flooded with water over Front Street. By the evening of the 4th, the water rose an additional 4 to 5 feet and pushed ice over the retaining wall into Front Street and buildings. By the afternoon on the 5th, homes in the old village of Eagle were completely destroyed by ice, and in other areas in Eagle the water and ice was to the second story of homes. A business that was constructed to be more than 10 feet above the previous high water mark of 1937 was less than one foot above the water. At around midnight, the water came up further and ice smashed all structures along Front Street, and some buildings were lifted off their foundations and either moved or floated down river and were destroyed. On the night of the 6th, the water levels dropped about 30 feet and the worst of the flooding was over. In total, 26 homes were destroyed, and there were 7 homes with major damage.

There were no serious injuries or deaths reported as a result of the flooding, but by the time the flooding was over it caused the worst flooding on record to the community of Eagle. The damage estimates for this event include the costs to repair and replace homes that were damaged and destroyed as well as costs to repair and replace public infrastructure and equipment.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (64.7934, -141.2181)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 158425. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.