Following the devastation unleashed by Typhoon Halong, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska warned that it could take years for some of her state’s communities to recover.
The Guardian quoted Murkowski saying
“It’s going to take years to recover from the disaster, of what we have seen with this storm,” she said. Murkowski added, “We have to come together in times of tragedy and disasters – we know that.
“After the flood waters recede, and after the damage to the homes and the fish camp is calculated, there’s so much work that remains, and so much healing that is needed.”
Governor Gavin Newsom of California also responded on the disaster attributing the devastation to infrastructure cuts by the Trump regime.
Politico reports Several grants awarded to Alaskan communities to defend against climate change were cut in May.
Rayna Paul warned a federal court earlier this year that EPA’s decision to nix a $20 million climate grant could leave her tiny Alaskan village vulnerable to “catastrophe.”
Much of that village was swept away Oct. 12.
Typhoon Halong was strengthened by abnormally warm sea-surface temperatures when it hit western Alaska. Its remnants lifted homes in Kipnuk, Alaska, off of their foundations and carried them away, according to the website for Paul’s GoFundMe campaign.
“The wooden boardwalks that connect our community are shattered,” wrote Paul, who serves as environmental director for the high-poverty Alaska Native village. “Power lines are down. The land itself has changed; it’s heartbreaking to see.”
Paul, who could not be reached for this story, is now planning to relocate with her family.
Kipnuk was awarded a $20 million grant last year to defend itself against climate change-driven erosion and flooding. It was one of nine Alaskan communities and 105 communities nationwide to receive grants under EPA’s Community Change Grant program — a $1.6 billion climate law initiative that aimed to help low-income and disadvantaged communities address long-standing environmental and climate risks.