More than a thousand people in Western Alaska are sleeping in their local school after a massive storm Sunday made their homes unlivable. But some of the schools arenโt livable either. In Kwigillingok, some 400 people were sheltering at the school, without functioning toilets, the Alaska Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management reported Monday.
Nearly 600 were staying at the school in Kipnuk, where the water plant wasnโt working and electricity was limited. Mark Roberts, the state incident commander, said Tuesday theyโve begun evacuating the medically vulnerable to Bethel. โWe’re moving as fast as we can,โ he said. โWe know that folks are miserable.โ The storm struck two communities very hard, Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, with record-breaking storm surge and damage to nearly every home.
But many more communities along the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and farther north suffered flooding. Complicating rescue efforts, some airports are closed to fixed-wing planes, some power plants and phone systems are down and none of the communities are on a road system. Also, another storm is expected to bring high winds this week.
