Hannah Flor, Alaska Public Media

People stand outside a hotel with cars are parked in front

Public Safety

Western Alaska evacuees in Anchorage slowly moving to temporary housing

Hannah Flor, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage

The transition is complicated by financial and logistical hurdles, according to state officials.

From left to right: U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, and Gov. Mike Dunleavy answer questions in Anchorage on Dec. 29, 2025, during a press conference on the Rural Health Transformation Program.

Politics

Alaska set to receive $272M to overhaul its rural health care system

Hannah Flor, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage

The $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program was authorized as part of the Republican-backed “One Big Beautiful Bill.” At a news conference in Anchorage, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan said the program has the potential to reshape Alaska’s health care system in a way that benefits everybody.

A wide shot of the Alaska Airlines Center

Public Safety

Western Alaska evacuees begin moving from Anchorage shelters into hotels

Hannah Flor, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage

The state says it expects to move the roughly 300 people staying at the Alaska Airlines Center and Egan Center into hotel rooms by the end of the week.

Julia Stone, 54, from Kipnuk, Alaska, stands outside the Alaska Airline Center mass shelter in Anchorage, where she is staying after Typhoon Halong flooded her village.

Alaska State News

Evacuees in Anchorage say they’re feeling a mix of gratitude and grief

Hannah Flor, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage

Hundreds of people evacuated from Western Alaska after Typhoon Halong now face uncertain futures in Alaska’s largest city.

Cots line the floor at the Alaska Airlines Center on the campus of the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Public Safety

Anchorage prepares for up to 2,000 evacuees from Western Alaska

Hannah Flor, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance says she expects many people will stay through the winter.