Kivalina's power is mostly back as the school shelter count drops to three

Power has been mostly restored in Kivalina, and three people stayed at the village's school shelter Tuesday night, down from about 175 last weekend, the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said Wednesday.

The shelter will stay open through the weekend because more storms are on the way, the division said in its daily situation report.

Wind gusts up to about 60 mph damaged a power line Friday evening and left a large part of the village without electricity, according to a National Weather Service storm report, which said it could take up to a week to get power back. The state's Oct. 26 report said a construction tower collapse damaged power lines.

Residents were shuttled to the new school, where about 175 people stayed Friday night, the weather service said. The state said about 175 sheltered there Saturday night, with an on-site medical provider. It said a medical evacuation was being considered, weather permitting, and that a local disaster had been declared, with the Northwest Arctic Borough engaged. By Monday night, the count was down to about 25.

The state finished an evacuation road in 2021 so residents could leave their island in a storm, and the road also leads to the school. The state transportation department said in 2022 that the school would serve as a full-service community emergency shelter.

More storms are lined up for the west coast. "The continuing sequence of storms allows limited time for water levels to recede," the state said Tuesday. The remnants of Typhoon Champi, the fifth storm in the string, are now forecast to track south toward Bristol Bay, which the weather service said will significantly weaken coastal impacts from Hooper Bay north.