Flooding

Some mail services to the community are paused, and mail is being distributed from a temporary space in the village.

High winds that began early on Sept. 15 have caused mild to moderate flooding across Y-K Delta communities with no significant damages reported.

Researchers looking at water level data from Typhoon Merbok in 2022 have shed new light on why the impacts of powerful storms vary widely across Western Alaska.

The River Watch team will be back in full force this year, working directly with communities on the Yukon and Kuskokwim and closely monitoring impacts as the ice goes out after a historically cold winter.

Some work on critical infrastructure projects will continue, but the state’s focus will transition to supporting storm-impacted communities and evacuated residents through the winter, officials said.

From volunteer-powered efforts to provide essential items, to the massive, multi-agency push to shore up village infrastructure, Bethel shows what a regional hub can do in crisis.

Kelly Loeffler, head of the Small Business Administration, said the agency is modifying its rules to allow loans for damages to personal property at subsistence camps.

Many of the Western Alaskan residents displaced by Typhoon Halong also lost their subsistence harvests.

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.

The Kuskokwim Delta community evacuated dozens of residents and welcomed in dozens from nearby coastal villages hit hardest by the storm. As cold weather arrives, many still don't know if their homes will be livable again.