At least three people remained missing Monday and 51 have been rescued from two Southwest Alaska communities hit hardest by the remnants of Typhoon Halong, according to the Alaska National Guard.
The massive storm flooded communities and destroyed homes Sunday when it slammed into the coast of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, bringing with it destructive winds and high waters. Officials have said that the hardest hit communities appear to be Kipnuk, Kwigillingok and Napakiak.
In an update Monday, the Guard said rescue teams from multiple agencies searched storm-impacted communities throughout the night. The storm blew and floated at least a dozen houses off of their foundations, some with families still inside.
As of Monday morning, U.S. Coast Guard and Alaska Air and Army National Guard aircraft had rescued 51 people and two dogs from Kipnuk and Kwigillingok. Three people were medically evacuated from Kipnuk to Bethel for medical care. Additional details about the three people unaccounted for in Kwigillingok were not immediately available. Search efforts continued, the Guard said.
The wind had mellowed by Monday morning, as the storm moved north into the Beaufort Sea, according to the National Weather Service.
Carson Jones, lead forecaster with the Weather Service’s Anchorage office, said weather in the areas hit hardest over the weekend had returned to normal for fall on Alaska’s west coast.
“Kind of isolated rain showers, some snow showers, up farther north into the northwest area there, but throughout the Kuskokwim Delta, we're mid-40s, light winds and isolated rain showers,” Jones said. “So the weather has calmed down significantly for those communities.”
Monday morning, Jones said, the storm was hitting the North Slope, where Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse were seeing wind gusting up to about 40 miles per hour.
The Guard asked anyone in need of immediate rescue to contact the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center at 907-551-7230. Gov. Mike Dunleavy has scheduled a news conference for 1 p.m. Monday with numerous state and federal officials. It will be live-streamed on the governor’s Facebook page.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
