Indigenous Alaska villages face long recovery after Typhoon Halong

The Indigenous villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok were among the hardest hit by the remnants of Typhoon Halong, which caused severe flooding and destruction across western Alaska, according to ICT. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy requested a major disaster declaration, saying many displaced residents will not be able to return home for at least 18 months.

An estimated 90 percent of buildings in Kipnuk and 35 percent in Kwigillingok were destroyed, according to Alaska’s emergency management division. More than 2,000 people were evacuated to Anchorage. “My house drifted away,” Daryl John of the Native Village of Kipnuk was quoted as saying. “Everything is gone, our food supply, our clothes, everything.”