The city of Anchorage is preparing to welcome up to 2,000 people displaced by the catastrophic storm that hit Western Alaska on Sunday. Mayor Suzanne LaFrance said she expects many will stay through the winter.
“We'll do everything we can to help folks and to do our best to provide a safe and welcome environment where they can heal and have stability as they work to rebuild,” she said in an interview Thursday.
About 260 evacuees arrived Wednesday. Hundreds more arrived Thursday, with additional groups expected in the coming days.
LaFrance said some will likely stay with friends or family. But many will need housing. City and state officials are working together to stand up shelters at the Egan Center and the Fairview and Spenard recreation centers, which will be managed by the state and Red Cross. The Red Cross also has a shelter at the Alaska Airlines Center on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus. Together, they can house up to about 1,200 people. The mayor’s team is also working to find hotel rooms. Going forward, she said, her team will look at options for more permanent housing.
“It's unknown how many people right now will be able to go back to those communities, or when or how they will be rebuilt,” she said. “We are working very closely with partners and looking at ways that we can help to quickly scale up different kinds of housing to meet this need.”
LaFrance said the municipality is taking a supporting role as the state of Alaska and the Red Cross manage the emergency response. Her team is focusing on emergency shelter and transitional and temporary housing. She said the Red Cross is working to feed evacuees and provide other basic amenities.
Anchorage School District Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt said in an email that schools are ready to enroll students and provide support including emergency supplies, bus transportation, mental health services and translation assistance.
“This transition carries both emotional and cultural weight,” he wrote. “Our schools will be places of belonging, healing, and hope, where every child feels safe, valued, and connected.”
Bryantt and LaFrance both underscored the devastation of the storm, noting Alaskans impacted have had to uproot their lives.
LaFrance said when she visited with evacuees Wednesday, one man told her about his house floating away.
“He went in twice to save family members,” she said. “He lost his house, he lost his boat, he lost his snowmachines. He said he never wanted to go through that again.”
LaFrance said she’s asking all Anchorage residents to greet those who have been displaced with generosity and kindness, because they are going through something traumatic and have lost so much.
She said anyone wishing to donate can do so through the Alaska Community Foundation.
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that city officials stood up the shelter at the Alaska Airlines Center on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus. That shelter was stood up and is being run by state officials and the Red Cross.
