Village Comes Together to Mitigate Storm Damage

In the middle of December, a severe weather warning came in for Unalakleet and the eastern areas of the Norton Sound region.

The storm brought with it winds gusting to more than 60 miles per hour. A small roof blew off and flew into a high voltage line, snapping the cable in two. Half the village was without power for about nine hours.

The power company says local resourcefulness is the main reason it was not longer: In the middle of the gusting winds, three crew members from the Unalakleet power company and a former employee climbed up and repaired the line break overhead.

At the same time, community members helped secure blowing debris to prevent further damage around the village.

Image at top: The village of Unalakleet. Photo by Zach Hughes, KNOM (2019).

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