One person died and two are missing in western Alaska after remnants of Typhoon Halong flooded remote communities, Alaska State Troopers said on Monday, confirming the first death in the state from the powerful storm.
All three people had been reported missing from Kwigillingok, one of the low-lying villages along the Bering Sea that were hard-hit by winds and floods that tore some houses off their foundations on Sunday.
The storm downed power lines, flooded roads and vastly reduced cellphone service in the affected areas, officials said. In a region that relies on travel by air and by water, damaged runways and boats made the emergency response more challenging.
At least 51 other people were rescued from Kwigillingok and the village of Kipnuk after the storm by the U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska Army National Guard and Alaska Air National Guard. At least three people were medically evacuated from Kipnuk to the city of Bethel.
Some survivors had been swimming or trying to hold onto debris in the water to keep from floating away, according to Captain Christopher Culpepper of the Coast Guard.
“It is absolutely devastating,” he said in a news conference on Monday.
Many people remained in emergency shelters on Monday, officials said. Officials were also monitoring reported sheen in the water and other pollution from possible fuel spills stemming from the stations that supply local boats and airplanes.
The water surged 6.6 feet above the highest normal tide line in Kipnuk, David Kramer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said on Monday. That was nearly two feet higher than the previous record, set in 2000. The 6.3-foot surge in Kwigillingok was more than three feet higher than the previous record there, from 1990. Typhoon Halong’s remnants brought Category 2 hurricane-force winds to some areas, the meteorologist said.
Another storm system was expected on Tuesday night, though none of the flooding was forecast to be as severe as with the typhoons over the weekend.
Officials described a large and complicated search-and-rescue operation in the remote region, acknowledging that they had to move quickly to help affected residents ahead of the fast-approaching winter cold.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck operation,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in the news conference.
Senator Dan Sullivan, who spoke in the news conference via telephone from Washington, said Trump administration officials had assured him the government shutdown would not hamper federal assistance.
Patricia Mazzei is the lead reporter for The Times in Miami, covering Florida and Puerto Rico.
Pooja Salhotra covers breaking news across the United States.
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