Anchorage officials say they’re continuing to assist hundreds of people evacuated from Western Alaska after the catastrophic storm earlier this month devastated the region.
As of Tuesday, about 655 people had been evacuated to Anchorage, many staying at mass shelters at the Egan and Alaska Airlines centers. It’s a smaller figure than the 2,000 potential evacuees officials estimated last week, but Municipal Manager Becky Windt Pearson said more people may arrive in the coming days and weeks.
“We scaled that back in our expectations and our planning somewhat to plan for a max of 1,500,” Windt Pearson said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. “That said, what we've been told by the state is there may still be people who are coming who we haven't yet identified, who may be assessing whether their current housing or sheltering situation is tenable to remain in for longer term.”
Windt Pearson said the city is working to transition evacuees out of the two mass shelters into more private housing. She said the city has been working to identify available hotel rooms, AirBnBs and other spaces.
“We've already identified more than 1,000 available non-congregate shelter beds,” she said. “We've shared that data with the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, and we are working to support them in initiating longer-term temporary solutions that provide more of that desired privacy and autonomy in the sheltering context.”
Windt Pearson said the cost of providing that shelter, as well as other emergency responses, will be taken on by the state, with potential federal support if the president approves a disaster declaration. Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Alaska’s congressional delegation requested a federal disaster declaration for the state last week, but so far, President Trump has not issued one.
State Rep. Nellie Unangiq Jimmie, D-Toksook Bay, represents many of the Western Alaska communities impacted by the storm and said the declaration is necessary to assist a vital part of the state.
“Alaska is made up of rural villages, and without rural, there’s no Alaska,” Jimmie said. “That is our way of life. That is where my ancestors are from, and that is what I would say.”
Anchorage School District Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt said the district has enrolled 130 evacuated students so far, with most going to Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School, Wendler Middle School and College Gate Elementary School, home to the district's Yup'ik Immersion Program.
Bryantt said he had a chance to ride with students on a school bus on Monday, and described them as strong.
“Behind every enrollment number is a story,” Bryantt said. “It's a face. And it's my role as superintendent to help these students get the support that they deserve and need.”
The Alaska Community Foundation is accepting financial donations to support evacuees, while the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Alaska Native Heritage Center are currently accepting donations of traditional foods.
This story has been corrected to reflect that Rep. Nellie Unangiq Jimmie is from Toksook Bay, not Bethel.
