Devastating Impact of Typhoon Halong on Alaska's Communities

Fri Oct 17 2025 08:56:35 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

The remnants of Typhoon Halong have caused significant damage to coastal villages in Alaska, displacing over 1,300 residents and leaving many without shelter. Authorities are scrambling to provide emergency housing as winter approaches.

Typhoon Halong's remnants have devastated several remote Alaskan villages, particularly Kipnuk and Kwigillingok. The storm caused severe damage, with homes washed away and hundreds displaced. Officials are working to provide immediate shelter and supplies, but the timing is critical with winter fast approaching. The challenges posed by the remote locations and damaged infrastructure complicate relief efforts.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Officials in Alaska are hastily organizing housing for residents displaced by the remnants of Typhoon Halong, which battered the state's coastal villages over the weekend. The severity of the destruction is prompting fears as winter approaches and additional storms threaten to complicate relief efforts.

The storm hit low-lying Indigenous communities situated along the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, located nearly 500 miles from Anchorage. High winds and storm surges led to catastrophic impacts, with some structures floating away and a death toll of at least one confirmed, alongside several reported missing.

As of Tuesday, over 1,300 people had been displaced, and dozens have found temporary refuge in shelters set up in Bethel, the regional hub. However, facilities are quickly running out of capacity, with plans to potentially relocate evacuees to larger centers in Fairbanks and Anchorage.

Local fuel depots, critical for subsistence hunting and fishing, have suffered damage that poses a risk of pollution. Many residents have reportedly lost freezers full of food supplies meant for the winter months.

The most severely impacted areas include Kipnuk, which has a population of 715, and Kwigillingok, home to 380. Both communities are largely inaccessible during the winter months, relying on air or water transport.

Mark Roberts, incident commander with the state emergency management division, describes the situation in Kipnuk as catastrophic, confirming that “every home in the village was damaged” with many tilted off their foundations.

Power and water systems are reported as compromised in several areas, prompting the activation of National Guard members to assist with logistics and supply distribution. However, mounting challenges suggest a protracted recovery, particularly given the approaching harsh winter weather.

Rick Thoman, a climate specialist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, highlights the resilience of Alaskan Indigenous communities but stresses the overwhelming nature of the current disaster, stating, “When an entire community is severely affected, individual efforts may not suffice.”

As recovery efforts are underway, residents are calling for additional support and resources to confront the extraordinary challenges posed by the storm's aftermath.