Officials say one of the “most significant” airlifts in Alaska history is underway to evacuate hundreds of people from storm-devastated coastal towns.

In a story published Oct. 14, 2025, about efforts to evacuate residents from coastal flooding in western Alaska, The Associated Press erroneously reported the hometown of a woman quoted about seeing homes float away.

Much of the Arctic is in a burst of freak December warming.

Residents on Alaska’s vast and sparsely populated western coast braced for what forecasters said could be one of the worst in recent history, accompanied by strong winds and high surf that could knock out power and cause flooding.

Alaska is burning this year in ways rarely or ever seen.

It is impacting the ability for Americans in the region to put food on the table right now," said University of Alaska climate specialist Rick Thoman. Birds and marine animals are showing up dead, he said, and sea temperatures are warm enough to support algal blooms, which can make the waters toxic to wildlife. This is a signal of global warmingThe warming is a sure signal of a warming planet and part of the trend of increasing global temperatures, Brettschneider said. "The sea temperatures and sea ice deficits have not happened before as a random event. That tends to mask a warming signal," Brettschneider said, referring to the long-term warming trend of the planet.