Coastal Flood Warning Live at Kwigillingok and Kipnuk, Flood Watch Inland

A coastal flood warning, not a watch, has been in effect since 4 a.m. Thursday for the Kuskokwim Delta coast and Nunivak Island, including Kwigillingok and Kipnuk, and runs to 4 a.m. Saturday. The Anchorage forecast office expects water 1.5 to 2.5 feet above the normal highest tide line at Kwigillingok on Thursday, with southeast winds of 35 to 45 mph gusting to 60, and says levels could reach five feet in a worst case. Inland, Kwethluk and Kasigluk residents face a return of floodwater to ground already soaked from last week's high water, under a flood watch the National Weather Service has posted through Saturday afternoon. The state recorded a home underwater at Kasigluk and river levels six to eight feet above normal at Kwethluk just three days ago, and road access at Kwethluk was already affected once this month.

Forecasters wrote that if water rises to 2.5 feet at Kwigillingok, "impacts would be comparable to the August 2024 storm." At Kipnuk the highest water is expected Friday: 1 to 2 feet above the normal highest tide line, 2 to 3 feet in a worst case, as winds turn southerly. The warning points to maps.dggs.alaska.gov/akfit/ for local flood impacts.

That August 2024 storm produced separate federal major disaster declarations for each village. DR-4853 for Kipnuk was declared Jan. 1, 2025, with about $430,700 in federal public assistance obligated. DR-4857 for Kwigillingok was declared Jan. 10, 2025, with about $995,500 obligated. The remnants of Typhoon Halong later struck the same coast Oct. 8-13, 2025, prompting DR-4893, covering nine school districts, listed in FEMA's record as regional educational attendance areas and school districts, plus the Northwest Arctic Borough, with about $5.7 million obligated for public assistance and about $62.7 million approved for individual households across 2,125 approved applications. Kipnuk received a second, village-only declaration, DR-4912, on May 29, 2026.

The Anchorage forecast office issued the watch Wednesday afternoon for the Interior Kuskokwim Delta, naming Kwethluk, Kasigluk, Bethel, Napaskiak, Napakiak, Oscarville and other nearby villages. Forecasters wrote that confidence is moderate to high that low-lying areas will flood at Kwethluk and Kasigluk, "where high-water was reported last week." The watch runs until 1 p.m. Saturday. It turns on rain: 1 to 2 inches is forecast for the Kilbuck Mountains and the lower Kuskokwim.

The Kuskokwim is falling. At the USGS gauge at Crooked Creek, the river ran at 131,000 cubic feet per second at 2:45 a.m. Thursday, about 2.3 times the 57,100 median for Sept. 24 across 74 years of record (1951-2025). That is above the 75th percentile of 76,300 and below the 95th percentile of 139,000; the record high for the date is 152,000, set in 2012. It ran 139,000 early Wednesday; the 90th percentile is 121,000.

The state emergency operations center's situation report of Monday, Sept. 21, logged both villages. From Kasigluk it recorded "one home inundated, additional high water surrounding other residences, and a possible oil sheen," attributed to levels on the Johnson and Kuskokwim rivers. From Kwethluk it recorded water "approximately 6-8 feet above normal, with some road access affected and water surrounding multiple residences and the new school." It contacted response partners at both villages and said the next day that it "remains in regular contact with communities in the storm's path." The National Weather Service's river-notes page describes a broader toll in Kasigluk, saying flooding in Old Town Kasigluk affected four homes, with water inside one of them.

No state disaster declaration has been issued, and FEMA has declared no new disaster in Alaska since Sept. 1.

On Sept. 22 the state relayed that "significant storm surge is not currently anticipated," and the coastal flood warning went up the next day. The state's Sept. 23 report says, "According to NOAA, Ex-Dujuan is not expected to be as impactful as Ex-Halong due to several notable meteorological differences between the systems." The prior day's report said, "Given already elevated water levels in the region, some flooding is expected in Kuskokwim River area communities." The two consecutive reports give the storm two names, Typhoon Bujuan and Ex-Dujuan.

No resident, tribal government or school district official from Kasigluk, Kwethluk, Kipnuk or Kwigillingok appears in any of the records above. The six to eight feet reported at Kwethluk cannot be checked against an instrument, since no active gauge is listed on the Kwethluk or Johnson rivers. Whether a state declaration has been requested is not established.

The flood watch and the coastal flood warning both expire Saturday. Residents can track changes through National Weather Service Alaska alerts. The state emergency operations center remains at Level 2, Heightened Awareness.