The Observer, January 2007
Valdez Flooding
In early October 2006, rain pelted Prince William Sound for two days, with Valdez receiving some of the worst flooding in the region. These photos show some of the storm’s effects.
The road to the Valdez Marine Terminal was closed temporarily because of flooding, and staffing at the terminal was reduced to the bare minimum due to safety concerns.
Communication outages from the heavy rainfall and severe flooding caused a brief shutdown of the trans-Alaska pipeline.
The Richardson Highway, the only road out of town, became impassable. Boats and planes were the only options for transporting people and supplies. Bridges in the area washed out, and homes and recreational cabins were threatened. Some cabins were completely destroyed, buried under tons of rock and debris from flash flooding.
Several days after the floods, residents were still mopping up and repairing bridges, roads, and other structures damaged in the deluge.
(All photos courtesy of Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. Alyeska expressed its thanks to Pete Mattison and Ross Nease, facility maintenance coordinators who helped lead the organization’s successful flood response.)
Abercrombie Creek flooded through a Petrostar metering building, across Dayville Road and toward the Petrostar Refinery plant.
The braided Lowe River overflowed its banks.
Debris clogged culverts at the tanker terminal, forcing water over roads.
Several trees fell into the swollen Allison Creek.
Alyeska maintenance personnel and contractors removed multiple trees as they fell into Allison Creek. The trees’ weight threatened to destroy a bridge, but removing them helped save the structure.
Road access to Valdez was completely cut off for more than a week due to major road and bridge damage through Keystone Canyon.
Flood waters scoured the Petrostar metering building, jeopardizing the foundation and exposing utility lines.
Allison Creek flooding was stabilized, and the water routed back into the main channel.
Alyeska maintenance personnel and contractors stabilized the Allison Creek bridge.
Repairs on the Allison Creek bridge began as soon as possible.