After a storm swamped remote communities in western Alaska, search and rescue efforts are underway using military and state air resources. [Credit: Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Facebook page]
Key Takeaways:
Western Alaska was hit by a powerful storm (remnants of Typhoon Halong) with hurricane-force winds and over 6.3 feet of storm surge, causing widespread damage and communication outages in coastal villages.
U.S. military and Alaska aviation resources, including the Air National Guard, Army National Guard, and U.S. Coast Guard, were mobilized for extensive search and rescue operations.
As of Monday, these joint rescue efforts had saved 51 lives, despite challenges from the remote, damaged areas and reports of missing people from homes swept away.
Aviation resources from the U.S. military and Alaska were mobilized to search for people missing after a powerful storm moved through western part of the state over the weekend.
State officials said the storm was the remnants of Typhoon Halong and brought with it hurricane-force winds.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.