UPDATE ON NOVEMBER STORM IN KIVALINA
November 8, 2011 - 1:15 p.m.
Just got word from Elder Joe Swan Sr. that the slushy ice is coming in. That should hold down the waves some.
November 8, 2011 - 1:01 p.m
The City, IRA, KRPC and other entities are assigning duties for the Incident Command center. More info will be logged in once they have completed the list but currently, Mayor Thomas Hanifan Jr. has been assigned as Incident Commander. Austin Swan Sr. is the Safety Commander. Colleen Swan is the 'Information Contact' for the media. Numbers are listed on the far right side of the page.
November 8, 2011 - 12:52 p.m.
At this point, there are no plans to evacuate anyone from Kivalina. The storm surge is from 6 to 8 feet waves. The sea wall is 14 feet above sea level. The school is 19 feet above sea level and has already withstood 100 mile an hour winds. It is still standing. The only concern at this point is the winds will gust to 70 to 90 miles an hour so batten down the hatches, like we normally do in a storm. Please be prepared for power outages as the winds do affect the power lines but we are hoping it won't happen. Our AVEC power plant operator is on full alert and has help if there are problems. Fill your water buckets to capacity and make sure your stove oil holding tanks are filled to capacity too. It's going to be real windy and cold and we know you won't want to deal with the wind while filling stove oil. School is cancelled for tomorrow.
November 8, 2011 - 11:30 a.m.
The City's loader will be parked by the school, which is our command center, in the event of emergency transport. There will also be several boats placed by the school, for precautionary measures. Do not be alarmed! This is all PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES i.e. just in case, preparedness. Those of you that own boats that are parked by the lagoon, make an effort to move them to higher ground because there will be overflow in the lagoon and your boat will get iced in.
TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE
As told by a local resident,