Sitting shoulder to shoulder in tightly packed cargo planes, hundreds of people from storm-devastated communities in western Alaska are being evacuated.
More than 1,500 people from the mostly indigenous villages lost their homes when the remnants of Typhoon Halong slammed into the coast over the weekend.
On Wednesday, more than 300 evacuated residents were flown to Joint-Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage by the Alaska National Guard. From there they boarded buses taking them to the Alaska Airlines Center, a sports and events arena.
Jeremy Zidek, a spokesperson for the state emergency management office told the Associated Press that the goal is to eventually get people out of shelters and into hotel rooms or dormitories.
The mass evacuations are necessary because not only are many homes unlivable, but more storms and the impending winter season will make it difficult if not impossible to carry out emergency repairs.
(MORE: Native Alaskans Show Storm Destruction)
The remote location of these communities also adds to the problem. There are few roads and residents used boats and snowmobiles to get around.
The flooding reached record levels in the hardest-hit villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok. In Kwigillingok, emergency officials said that water levels reached 6.3 feet above the highest tide levels. In Kipnuk, water levels surged nearly 7 feet pushing homes off their foundations.
More than 40 communities have reported impacts from the storm.
U.S. Coast Guard Commander Capt. Christopher Culpepper compared the destruction to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina saying, “Several of these villages have been completely devastated, absolutely flooded, several feet deep. This took homes off of foundations. This put people in peril, where folks were swimming, floating, trying to find debris to hold onto in the cover of darkness.”
Along with the evacuations, the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the Alaska Organized Militia and the U.S. Coast Guard have been sending emergency supplies and gear into Bethel, where many people are staying in shelters.
One woman died and two other people are still missing from the storm.
