Bethel flooding is forecast to return with Thursday morning's tide

Water pushed into low-lying parts of Bethel on Tuesday as the Kuskokwim River rose nearly a foot above flood stage, and forecasters expect it to climb again with Thursday morning's high tide.

Wind is not the whole story. Onshore flow is holding the river back from draining at its mouth while heavy rain runs off upstream, forecasters said, backing water up into town. The high tides ease later in the week, which should let it drain.

A flood advisory runs through Thursday for Bethel and the nearby villages of Napakiak, Napaskiak, Oscarville and Kwethluk, where flooding has already been reported. A separate coastal advisory covers Kwigillingok, Kongiganak, Kipnuk, Toksook Bay and Tununak, where water is running a foot or two above the normal high tide line.

This stretch of the delta has flooded before under storms like this. Two Bering Sea lows in August 2024 flooded Bethel and several surrounding villages, with bank erosion at Napakiak coming within six feet of the school.