In one of Alaska’s largest airlift operations in recent times, the Alaska National Guard evacuated at least 300 residents after the remnants of Typhoon Halong bombarded littoral areas with important winds and storm surges exceeding six bases. The storm, which began as a typhoon in the Pacific, brought wide flooding, destruction of homes, and damage to critical structures across several communities, leaving thousands displaced and at least one person dead.
According to the Alaska National Guard, the storm’s impact was particularly severe in the southwestern townlets of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, where storm surges reached up to 6.6 bases in some areas—nearly two bases more advanced than former records. The extreme winds, with gusts exceeding 100 long hauls per hour, capsized homes and submerged entire neighborhoods. The scale of damage urged a major exigency response, with the Guard conducting nonstop airlifts to move residents to safer locales.
Overnight operations saw 300 people airlifted from an indigenous sanctum in Bethel, which had reached full capacity, to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, located nearly 400 long hauls down. Lt. Col. Brendan Holbrook, commander of the Alaska Army National Guard’s 207th Aviation Troop Command, said that fresh evacuations were planned through Friday to move the remaining residents from Bethel to Anchorage. The charge, he added, needed expansive collaboration and was among the largest conducted by the Guard in recent state history.
Authorities verified that a 67-year-old woman was founddead, while two men, aged 71 and 41, remain missing. The state’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management stated that the charge has now shifted from deliverance to recovery efforts for the missing individuals. Exigency brigades are presently concentrated on furnishing sanctum for expatriates and restoring essential services, including water, power, and sanitation, to the affected townlets.
The American Red Cross reported that as many as 2,000 people have been forced to leave their homes across the region due to severe flooding and damage. The association described the situation as ruinous, noting that “homes have been swamped, pushed off their foundations, and, in some cases, swept entirely out to sea.” It also reported expansive damage to structures, including roads, communication lines, and air and seaport installations, making access to some areas extremely delicate.
Relief officers advised that recovery sweats could take months, particularly as downtime approaches. Numerous of the affected townlets are remote and depend heavily on stored food and energy inventories to survive the harsh downtime months. The Red Cross said that “townlets have been left unapproachable or unlivable” and that “this could be a prolonged relief operation lasting months as downtime sets in.”
In some communities, residents now face worsening conditions as power and running water remain cut off. Stored food inventories, frequently gathered through stalking and fishing, have been ruined by floodwaters. Heating ranges in several homes were also damaged, raising concerns about how families will manage with the nipping temperatures anticipated in the coming weeks. The Red Cross emphasized that the loss of these essential coffers could make the forthcoming downtime particularly delicate for remote communities.
The village of Kipnuk, home to roughly 700 residents, has long plodded with recreating cataracts. Between 1979 and 2002, the area was swamped at least 30 times, pressing its vulnerability to littoral and riverine surges. In an earlier effort to reduce flood tide pitfalls, Rayna Paul, Kipnuk’s environmental director, had successfully applied for a $20 million entitlement to support the beachfront. Still, the design was later canceled during the administration of former President Donald Trump, leaving the village exposed to continued pitfalls from rising water situations and severe storms.
As Alaska continues to face the growing impact of extreme rainfall events, state officers and community leaders are calling for stronger structure investments and long-term adaptability planning. The state’s geographic insulation and dependence on small, haphazard communities make exigency responses particularly challenging.
The recent disaster has underlined the critical need for better disaster preparedness, especially in regions vulnerable to climate-driven changes. With numerous townlets located in low-lying littoral areas, rising ocean situations and decreasingly important storms pose mounting pitfalls to Alaska’s population.
For now, authorities remain focused on immediate recovery—furnishing food, sanctuary, and medical support to expatriates while working to restore power and communication lines. The Red Cross and original agencies have stationed brigades to assess damage and coordinate relief inventories, though access to some areas remains confined due to floodwaters and damaged transport routes.
As deliverance operations transition to recovery, officers advise that reconditioning will take time and sustained effort. For numerous of Alaska’s littoral residents, Typhoon Halong’s remnants have left lasting damage, both to their homes and their way of life, as the state prepares for a long, cold downtime ahead.
