1974 Bering Sea Storm
A powerful Bering Sea storm, forming near Adak in the Aleutians, moved
up the western coast of Alaska and brought with it 70mph winds that battered
Nome and its surrounding villages the night of 11/11 and into the morning of
11/12.1 The lowest pressure from the storm over Nome was 970mb.2
In Nome, seawalls helped block some of the ocean water from destroying
the city. Even so, Front Street, Nome’s main road, was covered under 5ft of
water after 10ft waves crashed onto shore.34 The storm completely destroyed
the village of King Island, ruining most, if not all, the homes there. Rebuilding
King Island cost an estimated $1.2M5, while the storm in total cost $15M around
the Nome area.6
Communications were lost for many of the villages, and combined with
freezing temperatures and some floodwater saturated with oil, immediate
attention was required. Many supplies were airlifted to the villages, including fuel
and generators.7
President Ford declared the flooding a federal disaster on 11/14. This
declaration allowed funds to be available for relief aid.8 The flooding has been
called more devastating than the 1964 Anchorage earthquake and the 1967
Fairbanks flood, and is the most severe recorded storm in Nome.9
Citation
Seawater rips through
Nome. Daily News-Miner
(AK)- November 12,
1974. Page(s): 1.
Details
 Nome and low-lying native
villages were the target for some
of the worst flooding there in two
decades on the night of 11/11.
There were 70mph winds.
 No injuries were reported.
 On 11/12 The Alaska Disaster
Office in Anchorage ferried
25,000 sandbags to Nome. A
plane carrying equipment and
technicians was also sent.
 The only communications Nome
had were teletype circuits being
run by generator and emergency
1
Seawater rips through Nome. Daily News-Miner (AK)- November 12, 1974. Page: 1.
2
NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS AR-23. NWS, Anchorage, June 1978.
3
New storm appears headed for Nome. Anchorage Daily News (AK)- November 13, 1974. Author: Howard Weaver. Pages: 1, 2.
4
Second storm misses Nome; waters recede. Daily News-Miner (AK)- November 13, 1974. Page(s): 1.
5
King Islanders to get new homes soon. The Nome Nugget (AK)- December 6, 1974. Page: 1.
6
Nome folks shudder as gallons of liquor poured onto streets. Daily News-Miner (AK)- November 21, 1974. Page(s): 2.
7
Relief center opens in Nome. Anchorage Daily Times (AK)- November 16, 1974. Page(s): 1.
8
Residents of Nome tidy up following winds and waves. Daily News-Miner (AK)- November 14, 1974. Page: 1.
9
Storm damage hit most communities. Anchorage Daily News (AK)- November 16, 1974. Author: Howard Weaver, Daily News Staff Writer. Page: 2.
File(s)
Scan0009



24-Hour Weather
Forecast. Daily NewsMiner (AK)- November
12, 1974. Page(s): 5.


New storm appears
headed for Nome.
Anchorage Daily News
(AK)- November 13,
1974. Author(s): Howard
Weaver. Page(s): 1, 2.





Nome begins bail-out.
Anchorage Daily News
(AK)- November 14,
1974. Author(s): Howard
Weaver. Page(s): 1, 2.


phones operating by battery
power.
The Civil Defense Office closed
all roads fanning out from Nome
because of flooding.
Many stores and businesses were
flooded. There were also many
reports of broken glass and roofs
being lifted off by strong winds.
This storm was spawned by a
low-pressure system hovering
over the Siberian coast, 200 miles
to the west.
The powerful storm that battered
the Seward Peninsula and the
northwest Alaskan coast is slowly
moving north into the Arctic Sea
and weakening.
A new storm is expected to move
into the Aleutian Chain on 1/12
and is then expected to move
north.
The storm, forming near Adak in
the Aleutians, piled water to the
shore like how a snowdrift does.
10ft of water crashed onto Front
Street.
Most of the city was without
power and heat was shutoff in
many dwellings.
Communication was cutoff to
small villages; with freezing
temperatures, help was needed
immediately.
Half of the landing strip at the
airport was underwater. All
commercial flights were
cancelled.
More than 350 meals were served
on 11/12 in the emergency
center. About 60 people forced
from their houses slept on
wresting mats on the gym floor.
Nome had had unseasonably
warm weather, but became on the
brink as the temperature started
Scan0010
Scan0026,
Scan0027
Scan0028,
Scan0029


Second storm misses
Nome; waters recede.
Daily News-Miner (AK)November 13, 1974.
Page(s): 1.









to dip into the 20Fs.
Small-scale looting occurred on
11/12. About $500 was stolen
from coin-operated machines at a
bar and liquor was taken from
another bar.
About half the town had electricity
now.
A second storm was more
southeastern than expected, so
the storm missed Nome and hit
the southwest coast at Bristol
Bay.
Governor William A. Egan called
the storm on 11/11 and 1/12 a
“full-scale disaster,” and declared
the storm a disaster. He called on
President Ford for federal
assistance.
Nome was without adequate
power, food, and potable water.
Immediate assistance was also
needed because of freezing
temperatures.
Nome and some other
communities were without
adequate food, drinking water,
and power.
The NWS said that waters were
receding in Nome on 11/13, but
some parts that were under 5ft of
water were still recovering.
Unalakleet and Shishmaref were
heavily damaged by flood waters
on 11/12.
At least 100 people were
evacuated from their houses in
Nome and shelters were set up at
schools.
The NWS predicted widespread
coastal flooding would continue
the night of 11/13, and water
levels would recede as winds
decrease.
Alaska Airlines and Wien Air
Alaska’s regular flights into Nome
Scan0011,
Scan0012


Residents of Nome tidy
up following winds and
waves. Daily News-Miner
(AK)- November 14,
1974. Page(s): 1.



Nome Area Is Declared
‘Disaster’. Anchorage
Daily Times (AK)November 14, 1974.
Page(s): 1.


Nome disaster termed
worse than 1964
earthquake. Anchorage
Daily News (AK)November 16, 1974.
Author(s): Pam Millsap,
Daily News Staff Writer.
Page(s): 2.



were delayed, but once they
could, they would deliver
equipment and provisions.
Airport taxiways were under 2ft of
water but the runway, which
accommodates jet traffic, was
spared.
In Unalakleet, the NWS and FAA
stations were damaged, 10
houses were flooded, the runway
was under 6ft of water, the
community center was destroyed,
and the village’s main road was
under 4ft of water.
President Ford declared parts of
Scan0037
the Seward Peninsula a federal
disaster on 11/14, which made
federal aid available.
Rep. Don Young of Alaska said
the declaration will allow
immediate repair work and flood
cleanup.
Still not deaths or serious injuries
were reported.
Because President Ford signed
Scan0015
the emergency declaration,
assistance in the forms of
temporary housing, disaster
unemployment money, repair of
streets, roads, bridges, public
facilities and utilities will be
provided.
Low interest disaster loans will be
made available to homeowners
and businessmen.
Officials said the storm was worse Scan0030
than the 1964 Anchorage
Earthquake and the 1967
Fairbanks flood, in terms of
human suffering and
inconvenience.
King Island was completely
destroyed and all 80 families in
the village lost their homes.
An estimated $12M in damage
alone in Nome.
Storm damage hit most
communities. Anchorage
Daily News (AK)November 16, 1974.
Author(s): Howard
Weaver, Daily News
Staff Writer. Page(s): 2.









Relief center opens in
Nome. Anchorage Daily
Times (AK)- November
16, 1974. Page(s): 1.



Dogs, Rats Trouble
Nome Area. Anchorage
Daily Times (AK)November 19, 1974.
Pages(s): 1, 2.



In Tin City, four buildings were
damaged. Damage to their
10,000-gallon fuel storage tank
was also reported.
In Elim, 11 boats were reported
missing. Gasoline drums were
also washed away by the tides.
In St. Michel, a fuel plant was
destroyed.
In Nook, a summer fishing camp
20mi south of Nome was
completely destroyed.
In Shaktoolik, boat damage and
losses totaled $20K.
In Wales, moderate damage from
water and storm-carried debris
was reported.
In Unalakleet, extensive damage
to all shoreline facilities was
reported. Homes were also
destroyed.
In Teller, there was extensive
damage to homes and structures.
The villages of Hooper Bay,
Deering, Spencer, Port Clarence,
and Savoogna did not have any
major damage.
On 11/15, four electrical
generators, clothing, and other
emergency supplies were flown
into Teller, the hardest hit village.
30 of the 45 families had to be
evacuated from their homes to a
nearby church.
Flood waters mixed with oil are
saturating homes.
A few villages that were heavily
damaged: Shishmaref,
Unalakleet, and St. Michel.
Schools in Nome reopened on
11/18.
Power was restored to the
downtown business area in Nome
on 11/17.
The Red Cross reports 27 homes
destroyed in Nome and Teller and
Scan0030
Scan0018,
Scan0020
Scan0021,
Scan0022




Nome folks shudder as
gallons of liquor poured
onto streets. Daily NewsMiner (AK)- November
21, 1974. Page(s): 2.


Nome digging out of
mess. The Nome Nugget
(AK)- November 22,
1974. Page(s): 1, 12.







Red Cross Does BangUp Job. The Nome
Nugget (AK)- November
22, 1974. Page(s): 13.


43 others with major damage. 250
people in the two towns are now
living with neighbors or relatives,
and six are still in emergency
shelters.
Nome’s sewer treatment plant
was still out of order as of 11/18.
King Island is still without power.
Pumps, heaters, cots, and
blankets were airlifted to Teller.
Nome regained power only 24hrs
after the storm abated on 11/12.
Beer, wine, and hard liquor were
ordered dumped under a federal
law that mandates destruction of
all alcoholic beverages touched
by flood waters.
The flood caused approximately
$15M in damages.
Property and other loses may
total around $30M.
The city’s sewage disposal plant
was out of commission and
residents were warned to boil
drinking water.
Governor Egan visited Nome on
11/14 to assess the damage.
There were 10ft tall waves with
the storm on 11/12.
A 16mi stretch of road between
Nome and Solomon was washed
out and needed to be rebuilt. The
estimated cost for this was $7M.
The storm caused $9M in public
sector damages and $7M in
private sector damages.
If it weren’t for the seawalls, the
damage and flooding would have
been much worse.
Red Cross assistance to victims
had topped $70,000 for the
residents of Nome, Teller, Wales,
Unalakleet, and other villages.
44 families incurred almost total
loss during the storm, left with
only the clothes on their backs.
Scan0041
Scan0002,
Scan0003
Scan0004
Family Rides Out Storm
in Nome’s King Island.
The Nome Nugget (AK)November 22, 1974.
Page(s): 16.


King Islanders to get new
homes soon. The Nome
Nugget (AK)- December
6, 1974. Page(s): 1.

Disaster Victims
Receiving Aid. The
Tundra Times (AK)December 18. Page(s):
5.



On 11/14, the first relief plane in
carries 3,500lbs of C rations, 200
collapsible water containers, and
200 sanitation processing kits.
The second plane carried 385
gallons of kerosene, 20 portable
space heaters, and a variety of
radio communications equipment.
Teller was the hardest hit village
by the storm.
Virtually every home in King
Island was destroyed by the
storm.
20 to 30 new homes will be
provided, a project that will cost
about $1.2M.
The Red Cross reported
assistance to disaster victims has
topped $90K. This assistance
included: food, clothing, bedding,
cooking and eating utensils, items
of household furnishings, small
emergency home repairs,
emergency medical needs, and
occupational supplies and
equipment.
The number of families to register
for assistance is over 450.
Scan0007
Scan0009
Scan0036