Gov. Mike Dunleavy, along with members of his cabinet, Coast Guard officials and Alaska's congressional delegation, laid out next steps during a briefing Monday afternoon, hours after 51 Alaskans were rescued overnight as their homes washed away.
The officials could not yet confirm the total number of structures in Western Alaska that were damaged or destroyed, the number of residents displaced, or the full extent of the need for emergency and long-term shelter in the wake of the storm.
As of Monday evening, one person from the village of Kwigillingok was found dead while two others were still unaccounted for.
"We will mobilize every resource that we have," Dunleavy said.
More stormy weather was expected in the region Tuesday, with winter fast approaching.
"This may end up being the largest off-the-road-system response for the National Guard in about 45 years," said Alaska Military and Veterans Affairs Commissioner Torrence Saxe.
That response would begin with establishing task forces in Nome, Kotzebue and Bethel, he said.
"From there, we'll do a hub-and-spoke system," Saxe said, with a plan to send out teams and assistance to the yet-uncounted communities that had sustained varying degrees of damage.
When evacuations are necessary, "the likely places they would go to would be Bethel," Saxe said. In case of a large-scale evacuation, "we are going to go to where the people want to be taken."
"So it could be Bethel, it could be Anchorage, it could be other places within the state," said Saxe. "We have a lot of aircraft ready to take people wherever they need to go."
For the people who remain in affected communities, Saxe said the focus will be on providing shelter, power, food and water. Damage assessment is "a little down the line," said Saxe.
In some communities, that includes answering the question: "How many houses do we have left?"
State Sen. Lyman Hoffman, a Democrat who represents the region in the Legislature, said he is "aware that many of the people in Kipnuk and Kwigillingok are interested in moving out as their lives have been uprooted."
"When we assess these villages, we have to determine if the villages are livable, at least for the next couple years, and who knows, maybe in the long-term," Dunleavy said.
FEDERAL RESPONSE
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, who called in to the briefing while traveling, said he has been in contact with FEMA Director David Richardson and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. He said both told him that the current federal government shutdown would not impact agency responses.
"As we move into the recovery phase, and we're not there yet, the federal agencies need to act very quickly. We're going to be seeing freeze-up and very cold weather, probably very soon," said Sullivan.
Sullivan pointed to federal funding already approved by Congress to mitigate the impacts of climate change in the wake of Typhoon Merbok, whose remnants struck Western Alaska in 2022. That funding was meant to make Alaska communities more resilient to the impacts of typhoons like Merbok and Halong. But some of those grant opportunities had been frozen or canceled by the Trump administration in recent months.
One of the awards canceled by President Donald Trump was meant to address coastal erosion in Kipnuk. Sullivan said he wasn't sure the project would have been implemented in time to prevent the damage wrought by the storm — even if the Trump administration hadn't halted the funding.
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the effects of the recent storm illustrate the importance of funding streams that are on Trump's chopping block.
"This disaster that we are seeing is yet one more reason why the delegation needs to lean in and make sure that the administration fully understands the value of what it means to have a level of preparedness, to have a level of resilience in an area that is so exposed on our western flank," said Murkowski.
Murkowski also said resources would be needed to address the trauma endured by Western Alaska residents.
"When the waters subside, when the analysis is complete, we have many, many families, we have communities that are in trauma, that will be in shock over the loss," said Murkowski. "I think what these communities are facing this weekend and then going forward is something that will be with so many for a long period of time."
STATE RESPONSE
Saxe said that by Tuesday, the number of activated National Guard members could be 200. Additionally, numerous organizations and private companies across the state have offered various forms of assistance.
"I would say we probably have over 50 different organizations and companies that have donated," said Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Incident Commander Mark Roberts.
"If there's been tragedy, we want to help them," said Roberts. "And then we're moving right on in to support sheltering, and then right on into the next to support the ability for people to live in a safe, warm place through the winter. We've got a very short time."
The local schools are typically the shelter of first resort. Schools in the region have experienced "only minimal impacts," according to Education Commissioner Deena Bishop.
If a school is inadequate or unsustainable, then the state could provide temporary housing in hotels or other settings, Roberts said.
The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities assumed 10 damage assessment teams, equipped with drone pilots that can view damage from above, according to Commissioner Ryan Anderson, who said their top priority will be to repair transportation infrastructure.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Capt. Christopher Culpepper, sector commander for U.S. Coast Guard forces across Western Alaska and the U.S Arctic, said Coast Guard Cutter Kimball was in position in the region and providing logistical support. The Coast Guard was also conducting shoreline searches and assessments using unmanned aircraft.
The Coast Guard could also be called to address oil spills that result from the storm, said Culpepper.
"As we continue through the initial search and rescue phases, we are also looking very closely towards marine environmental response," said Culpepper. "There's a vast stretch of the coastline that has been affected with dozens and dozens of regulated and additional fuel facilities."
The communities rely on those fuel tanks to heat their homes and to travel, among other purposes. Fuel spills can harm animals and soil quality, potentially impacting the subsistence foods on which community members rely.
Dunleavy downplayed concerns over potential oil spills.
"The last thing I want to hear at this point is an elder being told that they have to make sure that their oil tank that fell over because their house floated away, has to be concerned about the oil that has now gotten into the water."
"We'll deal with that stuff. It's important, but we have more important things right now," Dunleavy said.
© 2025 the Alaska Dispatch News (Anchorage, Alaska). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
