North of Unalakleet, the village of Shaktoolik appears to have weathered the storm well. Shaktoolik Mayor Eugene Asicksik heads the emergency command center there. He says in the village things are returning to normal. The debris and slush on the beach actually helped protect dwellings. No injuries are reported and people have returned to their homes.
He says this storm did not reach previous storm heights, compared with 1974 and 2009. Asicksic weathered both those storms. A 1974 flood inundated old Shaktoolik, so the village was relocated to its present site.
Shaktoolik’s airport is dry and has received two flights today. Asicksik says he’s not sure what will happen this evening. A high tide is anticipated around 10pm.
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APTI Reporter-Producer Ellen Lockyer started her radio career in the late 1980s, after a stint at bush Alaska weekly newspapers, the Copper Valley Views and the Cordova Times. When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Valdez Public Radio station KCHU needed a reporter, and Ellen picked up the microphone.
Since then, she has literally traveled the length of the state, from Attu to Eagle and from Barrow to Juneau, covering Alaska stories on the ground for the AK show, Alaska News Nightly, the Alaska Morning News and for Anchorage public radio station, KSKA
elockyer (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8446 | About Ellen
