The mass evacuation by military aircraft of hundreds of residents from Alaska villages ravaged by the remnants of Typhoon Halong is complete. Officials and local leaders are turning attention to trying to stabilize damaged infrastructure and housing where they can before the winter freeze sets in. The remnants of Halong battered parts of western Alaska, hitting especially hard the villages Kipnuk and Kwigillingok. The Alaska Federation of Natives at its recent gathering passed a resolution urging support of expansive, urgent and ongoing help for the region.
Damage to remote Alaska villages hammered by flooding last weekend is so extreme that many of the more than 2,000 people displaced won’t be able to return to their homes for at least 18 months. That's what Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a request to the White House for a major disaster declaration. In one of the hardest hit villages, Kipnuk, an initial assessment showed that 121 or homes — or 90% of the total — have been destroyed, Dunleavy wrote. In Kwigillingok, where three dozen homes floated away, slightly more than one-third of the residences are uninhabitable.
More evacuees from coastal Alaska villages inundated by high surf last weekend are arriving in Anchorage. Officials say one of the “most significant” airlifts in Alaska history is underway following a devastating typhoon. Hundreds of people are being flown to the state's largest city by military transport jet, and they are being put up in an arena at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Officials announced the airlifts Wednesday. Some villages on the state’s southwest coast were inundated by the remnants of Typhoon Halong last weekend. Dozens of homes were swept away, some with people still inside. At one point, the storm left about 1,500 residents in makeshift shelters. One person died and two are still missing.
Hundreds of residents from remote Alaska Native villages are being airlifted after a storm battered their communities. The storm wiped away homes and killed at least one person. Two others are missing. The remnants of Typhoon Halong brought record rainfall to western Alaska on Sunday, devastating the tiny coastal villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok. In one of the most significant airlifts in Alaska history, hundreds of people are being flown about 500 miles to Anchorage. Officials say there are about 1,600 people staying in 13 shelters. They hope the evacuees can be moved into hotel rooms or dormitories.
Officials say one of the “most significant” airlifts in Alaska history is underway to evacuate hundreds of people from storm-devastated coastal towns. Officials announced the airlifts Wednesday. Some villages on the state’s southwest coast were inundated by the remnants of Typhoon Halong last weekend. The storm slammed into coastal communities, bringing record-high water levels in some areas. Many homes were swept away, some with people still inside. The storm at one point left about 1,500 residents in makeshift shelters. One person died and two are still missing.
Officials in Alaska are rushing to find housing for people from tiny coastal villages devastated by the remnants of Typhoon Halong. But the remote location and severe damage are limiting their options as they race against other impending storms and the onset of winter. High winds and storm surge seawater battered low-lying, isolated Alaska Native communities in western Alaska over the weekend. The Coast Guard plucked two dozen people from their homes after the structures floated out to sea in high water, three people were missing or dead, and hundreds of people were staying in school shelters — including one with no working toilets, officials said. Across the region more than 1,500 people were displaced.
Tropical Storm Lorenzo is churning in the central tropical Atlantic Ocean but is not threatening land, according to forecasters. On Tuesday, the storm was about 1,330 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami reported it was moving northwest at 15 mph. No coastal watches or warnings are in effect. The storm is described as “poorly organized,” with tropical storm force winds extending up to 175 miles from the center. It is expected to turn northward and then toward the northeast in the coming days.
Forecasters say Tropical Storm Lorenzo has gotten slightly stronger in the central tropical Atlantic Ocean but still is not threatening land. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Monday that the storm was located about 2,005 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands and had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph. It was moving northwest at 13 mph. No coastal watches or warnings are in effect. Forecasters say the storm was expected to turn northward on Tuesday, with some gradual intensification possible by midweek. The forecast track through Saturday shows Lorenzo staying out in the ocean and away from land.
The remnants of Typhoon Halong have brought hurricane-force winds and ravaging storm surges to western Alaska. Authorities say one person is dead and two remain missing. They also say more than 50 people have been rescued. Floodwaters knocked some homes off foundations and swept others away. Officials in Alaska warned of a long road to recovery and a need for continued support for the hardest-hit communities. Elsewhere in the U.S., severe weather killed a woman in New York City who was struck by a solar panel. Rescuers in the Phoenix area found a man whose truck was swept away by floodwaters. Crews in southern California are preparing for potential mudslides in fire-ravaged areas.
As Tropical Storm Jerry churns in the Atlantic, Priscilla and a nor'easter threaten US with flooding
Tropical Storm Raymond has formed in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is the third system now off the western coast of Mexico. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says Raymond is about 115 miles south-southeast of Zihuatanejo, Mexico. It has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and is traveling west-northwest at 14 mph. At the same time, Tropical Storm Priscilla remains off the western coast of Mexico and is bringing rain to the Baja California peninsula. The former tropical storm Octave also churned in the eastern Pacific near Mexico but was downgraded Thursday morning to a post-tropical cyclone and was expected to dissipate soon.