One of the most significant airlifts in Alaska history took place Wednesday to transport hundreds of people from coastal villages Devastated by high waves and strong winds Officials said it was the remnants of Typhoon Halong last weekend.
The storm brought record levels of water to two low-lying communities and swept away homes — some with people inside. Temporary shelters were quickly set up and swelled to house about 1,500 people, an unusual number in a sparsely populated area where communities can be reached by air or water.
One person has been rescued and two are still missing after a home was swept out to sea, Jeremy Zedek, spokesman for the Alaska Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, told CBS News by phone.
“There were homes that were swept away, and unfortunately, there was one home occupied and three people were swept away,” Zedek told CBS News. “One person has been recovered, and two people are still missing. This is the most devastating impact. But we have communities along the Alaska coast that have been impacted.”
Defensive visual information distribution service via AP
About 300 evacuees were flown to Anchorage on Wednesday, about 500 miles east of the affected coastal villages, according to the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Some evacuees were received at a temporary shelter set up at the Alaska Airlines Center, an arena in Anchorage, Zedek said.
The remoteness and scale of the destruction created challenges for providing resources. Damage assessments began rolling in as responders shifted from initial search and rescue operations to trying to stabilize or restore essential services.
“The storm hit Saturday evening,” Zedek told CBS News. “I think by Sunday morning, the Alaska National Guard and Alaska State Troopers had launched planes to get into communities and conduct rescues, and they were literally pulling people off roofs, getting into homes, helping people out of the water, lifting them into baskets and getting them to safety.”
Brian Fischer, director of Alaska’s Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, told CBS News on Thursday that this was one of the largest disasters the state has ever dealt with.
The communities of Kipnok and Kuijelinguk near the Bering Sea saw water levels rise more than 6 feet above the highest natural high tide line.
Some homes cannot be reoccupied, even with emergency repairs, and others may not be livable by winter, emergency management officials said. Meteorologists say rain and snow are likely in the area this weekend, with average temperatures just below freezing.
Mark Roberts, incident commander for the state Emergency Management Agency, said the immediate focus was “making sure people are safe, warm and taken care of as we work with our partners to restore essential services.”
Meanwhile, the bathrooms were back in operation at the school in Kuijelinguk, where about 350 people took refuge on Tuesday night, according to a state emergency management statement.
She added, “The damage to many homes is severe, and the local community leadership directed residents not to return to their homes due to safety concerns.”
Officials said the shelter space close to home — at the Bethel Regional Center in southwest Alaska — has reached maximum capacity.
Zidek did not know how long the evacuation process would take, and said that the authorities were looking for additional shelter sites. The goal, he said, is to move people from group shelters into hotel rooms or dormitories.
“I would point out that these communities are very remote,” Zedek told CBS News. “There are no roads leading to any of them. The only reliable way to get in and out on a regular basis is by air, and sometimes storms like the one that hit these communities make them impossible to access for long periods of time.”
“Every coastal storm we encounter is as strong as hurricanes in the Southeast, but it’s impossible to think about a coast-wide evacuation,” Fisher said Thursday.
He estimated that between 1,500 and 2,000 miles of Alaska’s coast were affected by the storm, and said it would have been impossible for the state to evacuate everyone along that stretch of coast.
“This is our Hurricane Katrina, but without the knocking, and winter is just around the corner,” Fisher said. “We will be dealing with this and taking care of Alaskans throughout the entire winter before we can restore critical infrastructure and homes. This will be a long-term situation before we can get people back into their homes.”
He said people are being evacuated about 300 to 500 miles from their homes. Many affected communities are not connected by roads. He added that many local runways were damaged, so only small planes could fly with the necessary supplies.
The unfolding crisis in southwest Alaska has drawn attention to the Trump administration’s cuts to grants intended to help small, mostly indigenous, villages prepare for storms or mitigate disaster risks.
For example, the Trump administration canceled a $20 million grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency for the flooded Kipnock area, a move that environmental groups objected to. The grant was intended to protect the boardwalk residents use to get around the community as well as 1,400 feet of the river from erosion, according to a federal website that tracks government spending.
There was limited work on the project before the grant expired. The village had purchased a freight bulldozer and briefly hired an accountant, according to the Public Rights Project, which represents Kipnok.
The group said it was unlikely a single project would prevent the recent floods. But work to remove abandoned fuel tanks and other materials to prevent them from falling into the river may be possible during the 2025 construction season.
“What is happening in Kipnock shows the true cost of withdrawing support that has already been pledged to frontline communities,” said Jill Habig, CEO of the Public Rights Project. “These grants are designed to help local governments prepare for and adapt to the increasing impacts of climate change. When this commitment is broken, it puts people’s safety, homes and futures at risk.”
Although some of the flooding was at a record level, the weather forecasts were accurate, they received the normal weather forecast and had the correct data, regardless, Fisher said. Reported reductions in weather balloons Or other projects.
Fisher also said that cutting off public radio and television did not affect communications. He acknowledged that communications were down after the storm, but Alaska’s KYUK and KOTZ, two public radio stations, were broadcasting.