U.S. Town Buried in Snow
Although winter across the United States has been generally mild, towns located the southern region of Alaska have been witnessing more than their fair share of snowfall over the past few weeks, leaving some of them virtually buried in snow.
Anchorage, home to around half of the Alaskan population, has experienced its heaviest year of snowfall on record with 80 inches of snow falling since the start of the season.
In nearby Cordova, a small fishing town southeast of Anchorage, they’ve experienced snowfall that has practically inundated the entire town.
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The Alaskan National Guard was called out on Sunday to help shovel through the mounds of snow in the buried town, as well as assist with other emergency services, according to The Associated Press.
Cordova has experienced three weeks of relentless snowfall and The Guard reported that as much as 18 feet of snow dropped on the small fishing town over the past few weeks.
Warehouses and buildings collapsed, with avalanches having been spurred by the heavy and wet snowfall. Roofs of homes also collapsed and doors have been snowed in, leaving some residents stranded inside their homes.
Days ago, Cordova mayor Jim Kallander declared the town in a state an emergency.
“We had no alternative but to declare an emergency,” Kallander said.
The snow has heavily affected residents of Cordova, as the only access to the small town is through boat and plane.
“This is more quantity than can be handled,” Wendy Rainney, an owner of the Orca Adventure Lodge in Cordova told the AP.
“It’s a lot of snow. I’ve lived here 33 years and this is the most snow I’ve ever seen,” she added.
The snow isn’t slated to stop just yet either, as a new storm was forecast to hit the snowed-in town of Cordova on Monday evening into Tuesday night.
Monday's storm, which is expected to bring in anywhere from four to 10 additional inches of snow, has put the fishing town on a blizzard warning.
