Alaska
More than 1,400 seeking shelter as hundreds wait to be evacuated after catastrophic Western Alaska storm, officials say
An unprecedented coastal storm has forced more than 1,400 people from their homes in Western Alaska while emergency officials scramble to place stranded residents seeking shelter in the region’s hardest-hit areas, state disaster officials said Tuesday morning.
The remnants of Typhoon Halong battered the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region over the weekend with hurricane-force winds that gusted over 100 mph and caused catastrophic storm-surge flooding, destroying homes and infrastructure in many communities across the region.
Alaska State Troopers said Monday evening that they had found a deceased woman in the village of Kwigillingok. Two others remain missing in that community of about 400 residents near the mouth of the Kuskokwim River where surging floodwater tore dozens of homes from their foundations, sending them adrift.
While officials were still assessing the extent of the damage Tuesday morning, one of their immediate priorities was moving residents of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok — among the hardest-hit communities in the region — from schools to “more suitable locations,” the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said in a situation report Tuesday. Kipnuk is a coastal community of 700 people roughly 100 miles southwest of Bethel.
Nearly 60 people from Kipnuk and Kwigillingok spent the night in a shelter at the Armory in Bethel, according to Mary Horgan, a spokesperson for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. The Bethel-based tribal health organization didn’t have a count for the number of people coming in Tuesday, “but we have been told that ‘hundreds’ of people are looking to evacuate at this time,” Horgan wrote in an email.
State officials say it remains unclear where more than 1,000 residents of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok who initially sought shelter at community schools after fleeing the storm and rising waters would be moved to.
The state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management on Tuesday said it was coordinating the response with local, state, federal, tribal and private entities through the state Emergency Operations Center.
Organizations like the American Red Cross had sent personnel to Bethel to help with shelter operations while others were working to help provide food and supply distribution, according to the state agency. The Alaska National Guard had also been tasked with assisting sheltering and managing donation logistics.
Teams had been sent to affected communities to assess storm damage to infrastructure, like airport runways and water systems. Some affected communities, including Napakiak, Toksook Bay and Quinhagak, have reported issues with water systems being down, flooded power systems or severe erosion, according to state officials.
The Association of Village Council Presidents, which advocates on behalf of the 56 federally recognized tribes of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, said Tuesday that it had called on President Donald Trump to declare a national emergency and send federal assistance to Western Alaska.
In its request, the group said that while Gov. Mike Dunleavy had declared a state emergency, the scope of the devastation required federal funding and manpower to aid recovery efforts.
“Western Alaska needs your intervention immediately, and we are ready to work with you to support our communities,” Vivian Korthuis, the group’s CEO, wrote in the letter. “Send federal aid. Help us protect lives and rebuild our communities and our future.”
Alaska
Dozens of vehicle accidents reported, Anchorage after-school activities canceled, as snowfall buries Southcentral Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Up to a foot of snow has fallen in areas across Southcentral as of Tuesday, with more expected into Wednesday morning.
All sports and after-school activities — except high school basketball and hockey activities — were canceled Tuesday for the Anchorage School District. The decision was made to allow crews to clear school parking lots and manage traffic for snow removal, district officials said.
“These efforts are critical to ensuring schools can safely remain open [Wednesday],” ASD said in a statement.
The Anchorage Police Department’s accident count for the past two days shows there have been 55 car accidents since Monday, as of 9:45 a.m. Tuesday. In addition, there have been 86 vehicles in distress reported by the department.
The snowfall — which has brought up to 13 inches along areas of Turnagain Arm and 12 inches in Wasilla — is expected to continue Tuesday, according to latest forecast models. Numerous winter weather alerts are in effect, and inland areas of Southcentral could see winds up to 25 mph, with coastal areas potentially seeing winds over 45 mph.
Some areas of Southcentral could see more than 20 inches of snowfall by Wednesday, with the Anchorage and Eagle River Hillsides, as well as the foothills of the Talkeetna Mountain, among the areas seeing the most snowfall.
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Alaska
Yundt Served: Formal Charges Submitted to Alaska Republican Party, Asks for Party Sanction and Censure of Senator Rob Yundt
On January 3, 2026, Districts 27 and 28 of the Alaska Republican Party received formal charges against Senator Rob Yundt pursuant to Article VII of the Alaska Republican Party Rules.
According to the Alaska Republican Party Rules: “Any candidate or elected official may be sanctioned or censured for any of the following
reasons:
(a) Failure to follow the Party Platform.
(b) Engagement in any activities prohibited by or contrary to these rules or RNC Rules.
(c) Failure to carry out or perform the duties of their office.
(d) Engaging in prohibited discrimination.
(e) Forming a majority caucus in which non-Republicans are at least 1/3 or more of the
coalition.
(f) Engaging in other activities that may be reasonably assessed as bringing dishonor to
the ARP, such as commission of a serious crime.”
Party Rules require the signatures of at least 3 registered Republican constituents for official charges to be filed. The formal charges were signed by registered Republican voters and District N constitutions Jerad McClure, Thomas W. Oels, Janice M. Norman, and Manda Gershon.
Yundt is charged with “failure to adhere and uphold the Alaska Republican Party Platform” and “engaging in conduct contrary to the principles and priorities of the Alaska Republican Party Rules.” The constituents request: “Senator Rob Yundt be provided proper notice of the charges and a full and fair opportunity to respond; and that, upon a finding by the required two-thirds (2/3) vote of the District Committees that the charges are valid, the Committees impose the maximum sanctions authorized under Article VII.”
If the Party finds Yundt guilty of the charges, Yundt may be disciplined with formal censure by the Alaska Republican Party, declaration of ineligibility for Party endorsement, withdrawal of political support, prohibition from participating in certain Party activities, and official and public declaration that Yundt’s conduct and voting record contradict the Party’s values and priorities.
Reasons for the charges are based on Yundt’s active support of House Bill 57, Senate Bill 113, and Senate Bill 92. Constituents who filed the charges argue that HB 57 opposes the Alaska Republican Party Platform by “expanding government surveillance and dramatically increasing education spending;” that SB 113 opposes the Party’s Platform by “impos[ing] new tax burdens on Alaskan consumers and small businesses;” and that SB 92 opposes the Party by “proposing a targeted 9.2% tax on major private-sector energy producer supplying natural gas to Southcentral Alaska.” Although the filed charges state that SB 92 proposes a 9.2% tax, the bill actually proposes a 9.4% tax on income from oil and gas production and transportation.
Many Alaskan conservatives have expressed frustration with Senator Yundt’s legislative decisions. Some, like Marcy Sowers, consider Yundt more like “a tax-loving social justice warrior” than a conservative.
Related
Alaska
Pilot of Alaska flight that lost door plug over Portland sues Boeing, claims company blamed him
The Alaska Airlines captain who piloted the Boeing 737 Max that lost a door plug over Portland two years ago is suing the plane’s manufacturer, alleging that the company has tried to shift blame to him to shield its own negligence.
The $10 million suit — filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Tuesday on behalf of captain Brandon Fisher — stems from the dramatic Jan. 5, 2024 mid-air depressurization of Flight 1282, when a door plug in the 26th row flew off six minutes after take off, creating a 2-by-4-foot hole in the plane that forced Fisher and co-pilot Emily Wiprud to perform an emergency landing back at PDX.
None of the 171 passengers or six crew members on board was seriously injured, but some aviation medical experts said that the consequences could have been “catastrophic” had the incident happened at a higher altitude.
Fisher’s lawsuit is the latest in a series filed against Boeing, including dozens from Flight 1282 passengers. It also names Spirit AeroSystems, a subcontractor that worked on the plane.
The lawsuit blames the incident on quality control issues with the door plug. It argues that Boeing caught five misinstalled rivets in the panel, and that Spirit employees painted over the rivets instead of reinstalling them correctly. Boeing inspectors caught the discrepancy again, the complaint alleges, but when employees finally reopened the panel to fix the rivets, they didn’t reattach four bolts that secured the door panel.
The complaint’s allegations that Boeing employees failed to secure the bolts is in line with a National Transportation Safety Board investigation that came to the conclusion that the bolts hadn’t been replaced.
Despite these internal issues, Fisher claims Boeing deliberately shifted blame towards him and his first officer.
Lawyers for Boeing in an earlier lawsuit wrote that the company wasn’t responsible for the incident because the plane had been “improperly maintained or misused by persons and/or entities other than Boeing.”
Fisher’s complaint alleges that the company’s statement was intended to “paint him as the scapegoat for Boeing’s numerous failures.”
“Instead of praising Captain Fisher’s bravery, Boeing inexplicably impugned the reputations of the pilots,” the lawsuit says.
As a result, Fisher has been scrutinized for his role in the incident, the lawsuit alleges, and named in two lawsuits by passengers.
Spokespeople for Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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