Alaska’s Massive Airlift Exposes Cost of Federal Neglect on Native Communities

In the remote swaths of southwest Alaska, where rugged terrain and harsh weather already challenge daily life, tragedy struck with the remnants of Typhoon Halong. The storm unleashed unprecedented flooding in low-lying Native communities like Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, driving over 1,500 residents into makeshift shelters—and forcing one of the largest airlift evacuations in Alaskan history. Why Has Washington Abandoned America’s Most Vulnerable? The question demands attention: How did these hard-working Alaskan communities find themselves so unprepared for a foreseeable natural disaster? While emergency responders race against time with helicopters and military planes to transport evacuees hundreds of miles away to...