Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities

We support communities to address environmental threats and achieve their vision for a safe, healthy, and sustainable future.

Newsletter Issue 47

Buckland, Alaska Recovers From Ice Jam Flood

On the evening of Wednesday, May 12, 2021 while residents of Buckland, Alaska were cooking dinner and settling in for the night, the river began to rapidly rise. Within a matter of minutes, water and ice rushed over the banks and into the community. “I have never seen anything like it. It happened so fast,” said Percy Ballot, Buckland Tribal President.

May 12, 2021 flooding in Buckland, Alaska. Credit: John Jones. 

An ice jam had formed roughly a half-mile downstream from the village. Water levels continued to rise throughout that night and into Thursday. Buckland Incident Commander Raymond Lee Jr. reported on Thursday that roads were covered in five to six feet of water. Snow machines and four-wheelers were completely submerged. Anything that was not tied down—including fuel tanks, oil drums, and fish nets— floated away. The only way to travel throughout the community was by boat. Several homes lost heat and two were evacuated, forcing residents to seek refuge with family members.

Credit: John Jones. 

According to the community, a flood of this scale hasn’t occurred since 1978. “The surge of water came within minutes. It caught us off guard,” said Raymond Lee Jr. in an interagency update call. The community immediately enacted their Small Community Emergency Response Plan (SCERP), which is a community-wide plan to respond to disasters. Community volunteers used boats to assist with evacuation, assess damages, and help recover lost items. “People did whatever they could to help each other,” said Ballot.

The Northwest Arctic Borough played a pivotal role in convening partners and gathering community updates throughout the flood and response. Below is a timeline of response efforts thus far:

• May 13: The City of Buckland and Northwest Arctic Borough declared disasters.
• May 14: Water levels started to recede.
• May 17: Governor Dunleavy declared a disaster, activating Alaska’s Individual and Public Assistance disaster recovery programs.
• May 17: Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) Healthy Alaska Native Foundation (HANF) made a $10,000 gift to Buckland for response efforts.
• May 21– 23: Alaska Department of Homeland Security (DHSEM) State Emergency Operation Center (SEOC) Disaster Response team traveled to Buckland to complete a preliminary damage assessment.
• May 21 – 23: American Red Cross of Alaska traveled to Buckland to help assess damage to homes and provide short-term financial assistance to individuals.  
• June 2 – June 9: DHSEM Disaster Assistance traveled to Buckland to complete a detailed disaster assessment and assist community members in applying for damage assistance.  

Assessing the Damage

The extent of damages will be better understood once requests are submitted to the State of Alaska Individual and Public disaster recovery programs. Thus far, we’re aware of the following damages:

1. Homes: The community estimates damage to around 20 homes. Water levels reached the bottom of homes and damaged insulation. Additionally, the flood shifted many homes off of their gravel pads, causing them to slant. Foundations are unstable. The community is currently releveling structures, including replacing gravel that washed away during the flood and elevating homes higher than before the flood.
2. Roads: Roads throughout the community are washed out and scattered with large rocks and debris. The community needs heavy equipment and gravel in order to complete all necessary repairs.
3. Fuel tanks and personal property: The community is working to recover personal items that floated away during the flood, including numerous oil drums.

Immediate Next Steps

The community’s top priority is to repair homes. The State of Alaska will work with community members to provide funding to repair damage to homes and any personal property.

Erosion Threat

If you look closely at the first image above, you’ll notice flooding is not the only threat to community infrastructure in Buckland. The willows on the left side of the image indicate the location of the river shoreline. Approximately 20 homes, the school, and other buildings are threatened by erosion. Two staff from the Natural Resources Conservation Service Emergency Watershed Protection Program visited Buckland on June 2, 2021 and are currently evaluating the possibility of supporting the community with a shoreline protection or structure relocation project.  In addition to recovering from the flood and advancing solutions to the near-term erosion threat, Buckland is pursuing a long-term riverine erosion and flood risk assessment to forecast future impacts and inform long-term planning.

FEMA Requests Information on Climate Change and Underserved Populations 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is requesting information on how the agency can better advance equity in underserved communities impacted by climate change. Click here to see the Request for Information and submit comments by June 21. You can also share comments via voice at a June 15, 2021 webinar. Register to attend the webinar here.

Recent Events

Native Village of Unalakleet Launches their Remote Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Project

What if Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) could be used to monitor oil spills, flooding, sea ice reduction, environmental threats to critical infrastructure, and even support search and rescue missions? All of this is possible, and the Native Village of Unalakleet is working to make it happen in partnership with the University of Alaska - Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI) and with funding from the Arctic Domain Awareness Center (ADAC). The Remote UAS Inspection and Response Team Development in the Bering Strait Region Project is training pilots to fly UAS missions in and around Unalakleet and will also assess the feasibility of expanding the program throughout the Bering Strait region and in other United States Coast Guard Districts nationwide. The Native Village of Unalakleet, under the lead of John P. Henry Jr., serves as the regional hub for the project. The project began in February 2021 and will run through April 2022. Learn more about the project here.

Can I Build Here? A Few Tips from the Cold Climate Housing Research Center

The Alaska Tribal Resilience Learning Network hosted a webinar to discuss building in areas susceptible to permafrost degradation. You can view the recording and slides here. We recommend the presentation from Ilya Benesch at the Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC), which begins at 40:07.

About the Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities 

The goal of the Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities (CETC) is to support rural Alaskan communities experiencing infrastructure impacts associated with flooding, erosion, and permafrost degradation. The team does this primarily through grant writing, technical assistance, and project coordination.

ETC@anthc.org | (907) 729-4521 | www.anthc.org/cetc | 4500 Diplomacy Drive, Suite 561, Anchorage, AK 99508

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