ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said Thursday night that the airlift of residents displaced by Typhoon Halong could become one of the largest emergency evacuations in state history, as hundreds of evacuees arrived in Anchorage from flood-stricken Western Alaska.
Speaking from the Alaska Airlines Center on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus, where cots, food and medical care have been set up, Dunleavy said the first plane carrying evacuees landed Thursday evening and more were expected Friday.
“This may end up being one of the largest airlifts of Alaskans in the history of the state due to a disaster,” Dunleavy said. “We’re expecting upwards of 1,400 people, I think is the number, coming in tonight, tomorrow.”
The Red Cross, University of Alaska, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, the National Guard and other agencies have helped convert the sports arena into a temporary shelter. Dunleavy said many evacuees arrived with little more than the clothes on their backs…