Large-scale evacuation efforts are winding down in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta after the remnants of Typhoon Halong washed away homes and infrastructure.
In the days since Halong brought record floods and high winds to the coast, more than 600 people have boarded military helicopters and planes bringing them to Bethel and on to Anchorage. The Alaska National Guard called it the largest airlift operation in the state’s history.
Now, the focus is shifting.
“We’re in the relief process,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy said at an Alaska Army National Guard hangar in Bethel on Friday after visiting Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, two villages hit hardest by the storm.
Teams are continuing to assess damage in villages throughout the region and restore basic services, like power, water and communications. Some 90% of the structures in Kipnuk were destroyed by the storm, along with 35% of buildings in Kwigillingok, according to the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. A quarter of households in Napakiak have been displaced by flooding.
Further east, in Quinhagak, the storm eroded 60 feet of shoreline separating the community’s sewage lagoon from Kuskokwim Bay, and left raw wastewater perilously close to entering a vital salmon stream. Artifacts dating back to the 16th century at the Nunalleq archeological site, key to understanding pre-contact Yup'ik history, were left scattered on the sand.
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Meanwhile, hundreds of people are in shelters at the Alaska Airlines Center at the University of Alaska Anchorage and the Egan Civic and Convention Center.
State officials say the next step for evacuees is moving them into temporary, so-called “non-congregate” housing, like apartments or hotel rooms. The Municipality of Anchorage reported Saturday it had identified 1,000 hotel rooms and 100 apartments that could be used by evacuees.
But the long-term future for evacuees — whether they’ll be able to return to their home communities, and when — remains uncertain with winter fast approaching.
“Hopefully over the next few weeks, we'll have a much better understanding about how many people can go back to the villages, and then long term discussions as to, what is this going to look like over the long term?” Dunleavy said.
Kipnuk, he said, was in “bad shape.” But Dunleavy said he was optimistic about Kwigillingok’s future.
“We believe we can get that place up and running, probably on a much larger scale, where we think a lot of folks can actually come back,” he said.
Though military flights are tapering off, State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management spokesperson Jeremy Zidek said evacuations would continue with smaller aircraft. He said the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation, the regional tribal health consortium, is working with state officials to coordinate ongoing flights.
“If people still want to evacuate, now is really the time to let YKHC health care providers in the communities know, so we can start that process to get them out of the community,” he said.
Dunleavy sent a request to President Trump on Thursday asking him to declare a major disaster, which would unlock additional federal resources. He asked the federal government to cover 100% of the costs for the first 90 days. Local officials and the state’s congressional delegation are pressing Trump to approve the declaration.
On Saturday, a spokesperson with the Federal Emergency Management Agency said the disaster declaration was “under review.” An earlier email from FEMA warned of delayed responses to questions because of the ongoing federal government shutdown.
State officials are encouraging anyone who suffered damage in the storm to apply for the state’s individual assistance program, which helps people find housing, make repairs and more. It also helps tell state officials where help is needed and marshal resources from charitable groups, Zidek said.
Survivors can apply for assistance online at ready.alaska.gov/ia or by calling (844) 445-7131.
