Arkansas Division of Emergency Management aids Alaska recovery after Typhoon Halong – KATV

Interstate Cooperation for Disaster Recovery and Sustainable Development Goal Advancement

Report on Typhoon Halong Recovery Operations in Alaska

A report on the deployment of personnel from the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management (ADEM) to Alaska following the impact of Typhoon Halong on October 16, 2025. The mission, facilitated by the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), directly supports several key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through its focus on resilient recovery and multi-level partnership.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

1. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
   • The primary objective is to assist Alaskan communities in stabilizing and rebuilding, enhancing their resilience to future climate-related events.
   • Efforts are centered on ensuring survivors can rebuild with “dignity, stability, and care,” a cornerstone of sustainable and inclusive community development.
2. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
   • The deployment exemplifies a robust partnership between the states of Arkansas and Alaska, facilitated by the EMAC framework.
   • The operation involves close collaboration between state, tribal, local, and federal partners, demonstrating a multi-stakeholder approach to achieving recovery goals.
3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
   • The EMAC serves as an invaluable institutional tool that enables effective, accountable, and transparent interstate resource sharing during crises.
   • The coordinated response strengthens institutional capacity for disaster management at both state and national levels.
4. SDG 1 & SDG 10: No Poverty & Reduced Inequalities
   • The mission’s focus on the rapid and smooth delivery of assistance to all survivors is critical for preventing disaster-induced poverty.
   • Coordinated efforts aim to ensure equitable access to support and resources, reducing inequalities in the recovery process.
5. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
   • Securing essential support and resources for individuals before the onset of winter is a critical priority to safeguard the health and well-being of the affected population.

Mission Details and Core Responsibilities

Following a request from the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHS&EM), ADEM’s Emergency Management Assistance Compact Operations Manager, Jordan Abshire, was deployed for a two-week period to serve as Deputy Incident Commander. Key responsibilities include:

• Aiding Alaska’s emergency management leadership team in coordinating recovery and response operations.
• Overseeing incident management actions following the federal disaster declaration.
• Managing the coordination of resources to impacted communities.
• Ensuring optimal and efficient interagency communications among all responding partners.

Conclusion

The deployment underscores the critical role of interstate compacts like EMAC in national disaster response. By sharing personnel and expertise, states can collectively enhance their capacity to manage catastrophic events, thereby advancing the global agenda for building sustainable, resilient, and inclusive communities.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

  This goal is relevant because the article focuses on the recovery of communities ravaged by Typhoon Halong. The efforts described are aimed at helping communities “stabilize and begin rebuilding with dignity, stability, and care,” which directly relates to making human settlements resilient and safe after a disaster.

• SDG 13: Climate Action

  A typhoon is a climate-related natural disaster. The article discusses the response and recovery operations following this event. This connects to SDG 13’s emphasis on strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters.

• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

  The article highlights the collaboration between different states (Arkansas and Alaska) through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC). This partnership, which allows states to “share experience, personnel, and resources when disasters strike,” is a clear example of the multi-stakeholder cooperation promoted by SDG 17 to achieve common goals.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 11.5: By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations.

  The article’s focus on strengthening recovery operations after a typhoon and ensuring “assistance reaches survivors as quickly and smoothly as possible” directly addresses the need to reduce the impact of a water-related disaster on the affected population.

• Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.

  The deployment of an Emergency Management official to aid Alaska’s leadership team in “coordinating recovery and response operations” is a direct action to strengthen the state’s resilience and its capacity to manage the aftermath of a climate-related hazard like Typhoon Halong.

• Target 17.16: Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries.

  The article explicitly mentions the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) as an “invaluable tool that allows states to share experience, personnel, and resources when disasters strike.” This interstate agreement is a perfect example of a multi-stakeholder partnership designed to mobilize and share expertise and resources for disaster recovery.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Implied Indicator for Target 11.5: The article implies the importance of the speed and efficiency of aid delivery. A potential indicator could be the number of personnel deployed through mutual assistance agreements for disaster response. The deployment of Jordan Abshire from Arkansas to Alaska is a specific instance of this.
• Implied Indicator for Target 13.1: The existence and activation of the EMAC points to a formal strategy for disaster risk reduction. This aligns with the official indicator 13.1.2 (Number of countries that have adopted and implemented national disaster risk reduction strategies). The article’s content implies a measure of progress through the operationalization of sub-national disaster risk reduction and response strategies, as demonstrated by the interstate cooperation.
• Implied Indicator for Target 17.16: The article’s description of EMAC as a tool for states to share resources directly relates to measuring partnerships. An implied indicator is the existence and use of formal mechanisms for inter-agency and inter-governmental cooperation in disaster response. The request for assistance by Alaska and the subsequent deployment from Arkansas serves as a concrete example of this mechanism in action.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: katv.com