Napakiak
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Photo: Andrea Pokrzywinski via Wikimedia Commons · Photo source · CC BY 2.0
FEMA public assistance obligated for Typhoon Halong recovery reaches $9 million
More than a year after the remnants of Typhoon Halong hit western Alaska, $263 million of the $278 million in public recovery projects in FEMA's system are still in an early stage of review, agency records show. That includes $75 million in projects for Kipnuk, which lost more homes than any other village.
FEMA has approved 20 of the 385 projects so far, obligating about $9 million in federal money through its Public Assistance program, which pays state, local and tribal governments to recover from disasters. About 90% of it has paid for emergency work: sheltering, debris removal and other emergency protective measures.
Permanent repairs to public roads, buildings, utilities and other facilities account for about $88,000. That money covers damaged vehicles and equipment, including snow machines and carpenter tools, plus a gaming building in Nunapitchuk. Eleven months after the storm, that figure stood at about $82,000.
The biggest approved project, about $3 million, reimburses the state for sheltering. Two debris removal projects in Napakiak come to about $3.3 million more. The most recent obligation, Oct. 26, added money for the state's cost of managing the grants.
The Native Village of Kipnuk, the tribal government, has 49 projects in FEMA's system with an estimated cost of about $75 million. The Native Village of Kwigillingok has 23, estimated at about $25 million. FEMA hasn't approved any of them.
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About Napakiak
Napakiak, also known as Naparyarraq, is a Yup'ik village on the Kuskokwim River in the Bethel Census Area, downriver from Bethel in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Chronic riverbank erosion threatens its homes and infrastructure.
High water on the Kuskokwim, storm surge and the cleanup that follows western Alaska storms are recurring concerns for the village, including federal disaster aid for debris removal. Calista Corporation has sought airport land in Napakiak to bring the village hardwired broadband, and public safety matters there are handled by Alaska State Troopers.
Napakiak shares the lower Kuskokwim with Bethel and neighboring villages such as Kwethluk, and regional flood outlooks often name them together.