Storm-battered Western Alaska begins taking stock of the damage as flooding recedes

Many Alaska pharmacies are understaffed, leading to sporadic hours and patients turned away Email not displaying correctly? [View the web version]( [Anchorage Daily News]( Today's sponsor: [Today's sponsor: Northrim Bank]( Support independent reporting on what Alaskans care about most. [Subscribe today.]( Good afternoon. It’s Monday, September 19. In today's newsletter: - The remnants of a massive typhoon that battered a thousand-mile stretch of Western Alaska have dissipated, allowing communities to begin assessing damage from one of the worst storms on record. Alaskans who want to help those communities can donate through the Alaska Community Foundation. - Signs of a worsening pharmacist shortage in Alaska are everywhere. Experts say the shortage has been brewing for years and crystallized during the pandemic, and isn’t going away soon. - An Anchorage task force called upon by the city Assembly to form plans for sheltering hundreds of homeless residents this winter has proposed opening shelters in two city-owned buildings. PBS recently released the [latest documentary from Ken Burns](: “The U.S. and the Holocaust." Alaska played its own unique role in that great humanitarian crisis, when U.S. officials floated a plan to resettle Germany’s persecuted Jews here. In 1999, the Anchorage Daily News told that story [through a four-part series]( examining the fate of the Alaska sanctuary plan and the families who dreamed of coming into the country. 🌧️ Anchorage weather This afternoon in Anchorage calls for rain with a high of 58 degrees. Cloudy skies and the chance of rain will continue for the rest of the week, with temperatures hovering in the low to mid 50s. Here’s what else is making headlines in Alaska today. — Megan Pacer, mpacer@adn.com [As Western Alaska floodwaters recede, damage assessments begin across hundreds of miles of coastline ]( [As Western Alaska floodwaters recede, damage assessments begin across hundreds of miles of coastline]( Residents are taking stock after the remnants of Typhoon Merbok thrashed the coastline over the weekend, severely damaging at least five communities. The storm left telecommunications outages and a trail of wreckage to infrastructure including buildings, roads, docks, seawalls and airport runways. See also: • [Whipped by storm winds, a fire destroyed a popular Nome restaurant]( [Read More]( [Alaska Community Foundation creates fund to accept donations for storm-ravaged Western Alaska]( [Alaska Community Foundation creates fund to accept donations for storm-ravaged Western Alaska]( Alaskans looking to help the communities that were hit by the violent storm can donate to the Alaska Community Foundation. The nonprofit set up [a recovery fund]( to accept donations, and its CEO said the goal is to get relief out as quickly as possible for things like food and shelter. [Read More]( [Many Alaska pharmacies are understaffed, leading to sporadic hours and patients turned away]( [Many Alaska pharmacies are understaffed, leading to sporadic hours and patients turned away]( Alaska is in the midst of a pharmacist shortage. Experts say the reasons for the understaffing are complex and varied, there are no easy solutions — and that the problem may get worse before it gets better. [Read More]( ADVERTISEMENT [Anchorage task force urges city to use Golden Lion Hotel and Dempsey Anderson Ice Arena for emergency homeless shelters]( [Anchorage task force urges city to use Golden Lion Hotel and Dempsey Anderson Ice Arena for emergency homeless shelters]( The task force called upon by the Anchorage Assembly to draft plans for sheltering hundreds of homeless residents this winter has urged the city to open shelters in two city-owned buildings. The proposed plan would shelter more than 400 people. [Read More]( [Oktoberfest is tradition on tap]( [SPONSORED: Oktoberfest is tradition on tap]( Presented by Peak 2 Peak Events: There’s history behind the flow of beer that created the annual festival. 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