Hundreds of Alaska residents airlifted from storm-ravaged villages are now facing life in the state's largest city, with little idea of when—or if—they'll be able to return home. More than 200 residents from Kipnuk boarded a C-17 military transport plane in Bethel, en route to Anchorage, on Thursday after nearly all homes in the Yup'ik community of 700 were damaged by the remnants of Typhoon Halong, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Wednesday night had already seen the arrival of 300 Kipnuk evacuees in Anchorage, and on Thursday, another flight carried about 100 residents from Kwigillingok, another village battered by the storm. Officials estimate that only 20 to 30 Kipnuk residents stayed behind.
Many evacuees, clutching what few belongings they could grab, spoke of anxiety and uncertainty about what comes next. "Scared, worried," said Mychalann Panruk, as she waited with her 2-month-old child. Some, like Benjamin Martin, planned to stay with relatives. Others were simply relieved to be safe after floodwaters destroyed or swept away their homes. Officials say more than 1,000 people have been forced from homes across the Yukon-Kuskokwim region.
Officals say the airlift is the largest in state history. Evacuees were initially brought to Bethel but shelter space soon ran out and food supplies ran low at what officials described as a "transitional shelter" set up in a National Guard armory, the AP reports. "The biggest thing is, once we get people into Bethel, how can we get them warm and dry, get them some food, get a shower," Dave Reilly, a planner with the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, tells KTUU. "Some of the things that we take for granted every morning that we get up is completely gone for them."
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The storm swept away homes, some out to sea, leaving one person dead and at least two missing. Most homes in the affected village are damaged and residents say food they stockpiled for winter has been ruined. For now, evacuees in Anchorage are in a shelter at the Alaska Airlines Center, but officials are looking for longer term solutions. "No one wants to stay in a big, giant room with cots," says Jeremy Zidek, a spokesperson for the state's emergency response, per Alaska Public Media. "We understand that people can't do that for very long, and we want to really find other solutions for them as fast as possible."
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