Historic flooding in remote western Alaska forced mass evacuations and left homes destroyed, complicating rescue efforts as winter nears.
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Hundreds of people living in remote villages in western Alaska were airlifted to safety Thursday
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The mass evacuations come after the remnants of Typhoon Halong brought high winds and heavy
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rains to the region Sunday, which caused flooding that destroyed homes in Kipnok and Kulingok
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The water rose more than six feet higher than the usual highest tide level
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according to the Associated Press. One person is confirmed dead due to the flooding
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and at least two people are missing. More than 1,400 people have been forced to leave their homes
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Residents spoke with the Associated Press about the heroin ordeal. It's a nightmare what we went through
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But I thank God we are together. It was like a big earthquake, especially with water
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We were scared that the glass window was going to break Because the water was hidden, the water was hidden the window really pretty hard
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The storm caused historic flooding that destroyed homes in native low-lying communities
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The flooding was so powerful that entire homes were swept away. Tragically, some people were still inside those homes when it happened
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The villages are so remote that during this time of year, they can only be reached by boat or plane, since they aren't connected to the state's main road system
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Now, because of this, many people had to be flown by military plane to Anchorage
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which is about 500 miles east, in order to find safety and temporary housing
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Evacuees were given a safe place to stay The Red Cross set up a temporary shelter at the Alaska Airlines Sports Center In our village we say that we Native strong
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We have Native pride and nothing can break us down. But this is the hardest that we went through
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But everybody's sticking together. The village of Kipnuk is sticking together. Everybody's talking to each other, making sure everybody's okay
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Hugging them and making sure that they have everything they need. So everybody's taking care of everybody. We're all thankful that we're all alive
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The Associated Press spoke to a climate specialist from the University of Alaska Fairbanks who said
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rebuilding will be tough, especially with winter approaching. I think the main thing I would restress is that the recovery is just complicated because these
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are remote communities because there is no road connections and many of the airstrips are not big
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enough. You can't physically land a jet aircraft in there to haul in lots of supplies. They're not
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built for that. Vice President J.D. Vance said the federal government is working closely with
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Senator Dan Sullivan and Governor Mike Dunleavy to get residents the help that they need
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President Trump and I are closely tracking the storm devastation that resulted in over 1,000 citizens being airlifted out of Alaska villages
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Alaskans, our prayers are with you, Vance posted on X. For Straight Arrow News, I'm Lauren Keenan
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If you want more on this story, download the Straight Arrow News app or visit san.com
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