Alaska Democratic Party officials and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, are trading barbs over where blame should lie for issues with the National Weather Service (NWS) and lack of public radio funds.
The powerful storm Typhoon Halong, which battered several small western Alaska communities earlier this month, was likely made worse by a lack of weather data triggered by President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) funding cuts, according to CNN. The news outlet also reported there were few, if any, weather balloons to take measurements of what the weather was doing as the remains of the storm approached Alaska.
Eric Croft, chair of the Alaska Democratic Party, blamed Sullivan in part for the lack of forecasting.
“Sen. Dan Sullivan’s toxic support of sweeping cuts to federal weather monitoring and rural radio emergency systems has led to devastating consequences across Alaska,” he said. “New reporting from the Guardian reveals that DOGE cuts – which Sullivan backed – left Alaska communities without adequate warning before Typhoon Halong hit.”
Croft said Sullivan “bears direct responsibility” for the system failures that led to people’s lives being put at risk.
“Families had almost no warning because Sullivan voted to dismantle the only warning systems that protect Alaskans during severe storms like this one,” Croft said.
In his response to the criticism, the senator said he was grateful for NWS personnel deciding on everything from evacuation and search-and-rescue to opening temporary shelters.
“…The NWS was able to provide multiple warnings to communities and briefed decision-makers prior to and during the storm,” Sullivan said.
The Alaska Republican acknowledged that more than 50,000 Alaskans reside in remote and isolated areas, and maintained they received NWS warning during the storm.
“Tragically, one life was lost and two people are missing, but many lives were likely saved because of the hard and heroic work of Tribes, local officials, first responders, the Coast Guard, the Alaska National Guard, and the NWS,” he said.
Sullivan also gave credit to a delegation from FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, Office of Management and Budget, and Department of Homeland Security – plus Alaska state and tribal officials whom he accompanied last weekend to tour devastated communities.
Sullivan also noted he had worked to secure more than $1 million to keep Bethel’s public radio station, KYUK, operating. Long term federal funding for KYUK is still uncertain, but recent Interior Department grants are providing temporary relief for one year. The bulk of KYUK’s operating budget comes from federal funds.
Alaska Public Media reported in early October that 14 public broadcasting stations got on a list to be funded through a program that supports tribal stations, to make up for funds they’re no longer receiving from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Kristin Hall, general manager at KYUK, told Alaska Public Media that cheered up her staff, although the projected funds did not approach the value of federal funding lost by public radio and television stations.
While KYUK is not tribally owned, the station does partner with local Tribes to receive grants.
Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly attributed a quote from Alaska Democratic Party Chair Eric Croft to Sen. Dan Sullivan.
