Okay so this storm will basically be the most intense storm to rock the coast of Alaska in a very long time, if not ever. This storm is likely to hit the Western coasts of Alaska today and tomorrow this week, but it appears as if the inhabitants of these local towns are prepared. (sort of)
A mayor of one of these tiny towns on the coast said he is confident that rock wall that their town has built will be more than enough to handle the storm. The wall has not yet been tested by a storm of this magnitude, but their mayor is still confident that it will hold. He has also instructed all residents to seek shelter in the school, which is at the highest point in town.
So knowing what little I know about these kind of storms, I don't necessarily agree with what this town is doing. It is said that the tides will go up 8 to 10 feet, and from what I've learned, if water rises by that much, there are some potentially devastating things that that can do. I personally wouldn't think that a rock wall could take the constant battering of an extra 10 feet of water constantly crashing into it at much higher speeds than normal.
It is also said that this storm is expected to produce record blizzard conditions and excess snowfall levels and up to 80 mph winds and that does nothing to help the cause for that rock wall, and that could also lead to other problems. People may not be able to evacuate and protect themselves as planned.
It will be interesting to see what happens as this storm system progresses throughout the day today and into tomorrow, and see if the evacuation procedures and safety measures taken by these towns will be effective enough to weather this storm with minimal damage.
This is a goes satellite image of the storm that is currently battering Alaska. The GOES satellite provides some of the highest resolution imagery available when it comes to displaying weather patterns such as this one. This picture of the storm is basically what you could call "gnarly"
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