More than 30 people were rescued and three people remain unaccounted for in western Alaska after the remnants of Typhoon Halong brought hurricane-force winds and flooding strong enough to sweep away entire homes in coastal communities, authorities said. Rescue aircraft were sent to the tiny Alaskan villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, where there were reports of people possibly unaccounted for, said Jeremy Zidek, spokesperson for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. "We have received reports that people's homes have floated away and that people were potentially in those homes," Zidek told the AP.
In Kwigillingok, at least 18 people were rescued and three people remained unaccounted for, Alaska State Troopers said in a social media post on Sunday evening. In Kipnuk, at least 16 people were rescued and troopers had received secondhand reports of people who were unaccounted for. They were working with local officials to determine how many people were missing. Search efforts were expected to continue overnight as conditions allowed. According to the nonprofit Coastal Villages Region Fund, nearly 600 people in Kipnuk were taking shelter at a school while around 300 people in Kwigillingok were sheltering in a school there. The area is among one of the most isolated in the US, where some communities have few roads and residents use boardwalks, boats, and snowmobiles to get around, Zidek said.
"Every effort will be made to help those hit by this storm. Help is on the way," Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a statement. On the East Coast, forecasters warned that major coastal flooding was likely Monday in the mid-Atlantic, particularly from Virginia to New Jersey, as a nor'easter struck with strong onshore winds, high surf, and high tides. Coastal flooding was expected to peak Monday afternoon and improve gradually into Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.