Powerful storms destroy two Alaska villages, leaving over 1,500 homeless as officials rush to deliver aid before winter grips the region.
Ferocious Storms Batter Alaska’s Southwest Coast
Severe coastal storms struck Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta over the weekend, destroying homes and flooding entire villages. The remnants of Typhoon Halong unleashed hurricane-force winds and storm surges that decimated two remote Alaska Native communities, forcing more than 1,500 people to flee.
Villages in Ruin and Lives Lost
The hardest-hit communities—Kipnuk and Kwigillingok—sit roughly 800 kilometres from Anchorage and are accessible only by air or water. State officials confirmed one death and two missing residents after their home was swept out to sea. Coast Guard crews rescued over two dozen people from floating structures, while others clung to rooftops through the night.
Survivors Crowd into Makeshift Shelters
Hundreds of evacuees sought safety in school buildings. In Kwigillingok, 400 people spent Monday night inside a gymnasium with no working toilets. In nearby Bethel, the regional hub for western Alaska, dozens of residents arrived on emergency flights to a temporary shelter at the National Guard Armory. Authorities are considering longer-term relocation to Fairbanks and Anchorage.
Heartbreak and Uncertainty for Kipnuk Residents
In Kipnuk, home to about 715 people, the devastation was described as “catastrophic.” Resident Brea Paul recalled seeing about 20 houses swept away by moonlit tides. “Some homes blinked their phone lights at us like they were calling for help, but we couldn’t do anything,” she said. The following morning, she filmed a house nearly submerged, drifting past her own.
Widespread Destruction Across the Region
Damage assessments show nearly every home in Kwigillingok was hit, with dozens torn from their foundations. Flooded power systems in Napakiak left communities in darkness, while fuel contamination was reported in Nightmute. Alaska’s National Guard was deployed to airlift food, water, generators, and communication gear into isolated settlements between breaks in the storm.
Racing Against Winter for Recovery
Officials warn of a long recovery as freezing weather looms. Most rebuilding materials will need to be shipped or flown in before ice locks down transportation routes. “Indigenous communities in Alaska are resilient,” said Rick Thoman, a climate specialist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. “But when nearly every home is damaged, it’s beyond what any small community can manage alone.”
Thoman noted that the storm’s intensity was likely fueled by unusually warm Pacific waters — a result of human-driven climate change. The event follows similar destruction caused by the remnants of Typhoon Merbok three years ago, highlighting a troubling trend in the North Pacific’s changing climate.
