[Episcopal News Service] Episcopal churches along the west coast of Alaska were hit by a storm on Oct. 8 that created heavy rain, high seas and flooding in the area, four days before remnants of Typhoon Haplong brought hurricane-force winds and rain to the state, Alaska Bishop Mark Lattime told Episcopal News Service by email.
Two churches – St. George’s in the Arctic in Kotzebue and Church of the Epiphany in Kivalina, which are located on the Chukchi Sea on the north side of the Bering Strait – were in the path of the first storm, he said. While the church buildings suffered no damage, heavy flooding prompted evacuation orders for some residents, who relocated to local schools for safety.
Lattime said the diocese is working with Episcopal Relief & Development to explore how they can provide additional help to St. George’s, which already has an active feeding ministry.
His contact at Epiphany reported that most people in Kivalina “came through unscathed,” although there was damage to the sea wall that protects the peninsula’s shore from further erosion.
Remnants of the typhoon hit farther north, in Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Lattime said. The Associated Press reported it brought record flooding to two communities in that region and washed away homes, some with people still inside. One person was killed and two are missing as of Oct. 15, and 1,500 people have taken refuge in makeshift shelters.
That area of Alaska has no Episcopal churches, Lattime said. The territory was divided geographically in 1885 among various Protestant denominations, and that region was assigned to the Moravians. Adding additional context, he said the Alaska Province of the Moravian Church isn’t part of the full-communion agreement The Episcopal Church has had with the Moravians since 2011, so he has no direct contacts in that area.
Noting that “human suffering and need have no denominational affiliation,” Lattime said the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska is supporting relief and recovery efforts through the Alaska Community Foundation.
“The relief needs will be great, as the communities hardest hit are in remote areas accessible only by air or boat,” he said. “Food and building materials will have to be shipped in, and infrastructure to support relief work in these areas is significantly limited.”
While donations will help communities feed people and rebuild, Lattime said he especially grieves “that much of what has been lost is the traditional subsistence foods (fish, berries, meat) that the people in these communities spent the summer hunting and gathering. These foods don’t just feed bodies, they nourish spirits and souls and strengthen the bonds of tradition, culture, and community.”
— Melodie Woerman is an Episcopal News Service freelance reporter based in Kansas.