A powerful, ongoing storm in Western Alaska has flooded communities, destroyed homes and left some residents injured by flying debris. Officials say rescue efforts are underway after floodwaters in multiple communities swept homes off their foundations.
The remnants of Typhoon Halong tracked farther east than expected, slamming into the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta coast early on Sunday morning. Officials said Sunday afternoon that the hardest hit communities appeared to be Kipnuk, Kwigillingok and Napakiak.
As the storm raged Sunday morning, there were frantic reports on social media of homes floating away, some with people inside.
Ryan David of Kwigillingok spoke with KYUK while he was still trapped in his house. He said he was home with his four children Sunday morning when he felt the building start to shake.
“The flood lifted us up, and I didn't think it was going to happen,” David said. “I yelled at my kids to get up and group up here on the stairs, just in case we tip over.”
He said his home appeared to have floated along a small creek before coming to rest against a bridge. David said it took some time for the family to get out because debris was blocking the door.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has amended a disaster declaration that was issued earlier in the week to include areas of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta affected by the current storm.
“Every effort will be made to help those hit by this storm,” Dunleavy said in the statement.
The statement said emergency management specialists were in Bethel, Nome and Kotzebue to help coordinate disaster response.
Search and rescue
An unspecified number of people have been hurt by flying debris, according to a press release from the Alaska Association of Village Council Presidents. The release said residents in some communities were sheltering in school gyms, some of them running on generator power, and that some affected communities did not have health aides.
The Alaska National Guard announced in a press release that five helicopters and two planes from the National Guard and Coast Guard were helping to find people left stranded by the storm.
State emergency management spokesman Jeremy Zidek said it was hard to say how many people had been rescued, but numerous people had been picked up in Kipnuk and Kwigillingok. That includes 24 people Zidek said were rescued from two houses in Kwigillingok.
“Some people have been picked up from floated homes, and some who were stranded in their homes have been picked up,” Zidek said.
Zidek said one challenge for searchers was knowing whether people were in their village or not when the storm hit.
“What I can say is that we do not have any reports of significant injuries or deaths at this time,” he said.
The typhoon’s remnants took a ‘very unusual storm track’
The National Weather Service had expected the storm to move north past the Pribilof Islands and reach Nome before dawn Sunday. But according to Alaska climatologist Rick Thoman, the storm’s track shifted eastward, reducing the winds and water rise originally forecast for St. Lawrence Island, Little Diomede and parts of the Seward Peninsula.
Instead, the remnants of Typhoon Halong hit the Y-K Delta hardest.
In a video shared on YouTube, the National Weather Service Alaska Region said it had observed wind speeds of 107 mph in Kusilvak and 100 mph in Toksook Bay.
Joshua Ribail, a forecaster at the National Weather Service’s office in Anchorage, said Sunday the storm was expected to move north toward the Seward Peninsula and continue up the coast.
As the storm unfolded Sunday, the National Weather Service changed its forecasts for when water levels would peak in eastern Norton Sound. Unalakleet, on the eastern edge of the sound, was expected to reach its highest water levels at 3 p.m., with water slowly receding into the evening. Nome, meanwhile, was forecast to not reach its highest water levels until 11 p.m.
Thoman said waves from storms passing through the Bering Strait usually reach Nome first, then flood into the Norton Sound to the east.
“Because the low track was so far to the east of Nome, those usual rules of thumb are out the window,” Thoman said. “It’s all related to this very unusual storm track.”
Widespread damage and power outages
On a call organized by the Association of Village Council Presidents, residents and officials from villages across the region described widespread damage and power outages. Officials said one person remained unaccounted for, though neither the person nor their community were named during the briefing.
Zidek said that in Kipnuk, as many as eight homes have been pushed off their foundations.
And in Kongiganak, tribal police officer Milton Bunyan said that houses and infrastructure were damaged as well.
“It’s very disastrous,” he said. “Boardwalk through the school is gone. There's the house that has its roof off.”
Bunyan said that the winds calmed down in the village by Sunday afternoon, but village officials and residents were still assessing the situation.
Another Kongiganak tribal police officer, Roland Andrew II, said that the storm started off slowly on Saturday but intensified as it got dark.
"We've never seen this before here in this village," Andrew said. "It was the highest tide."
Serious flooding in Bethel
Bethel experienced significant flooding but appeared to have escaped the kind of damage seen along the coast.
At around 9:30 a.m., water spilled over roads near Bethel’s boat harbor and into river- and slough-side neighborhoods. A barge also broke away from its mooring and was jammed against the Brown's Slough bridge.
Bethel Police said they had not gotten any updates on potential impacts to the bridge.
On Sunday afternoon, several roads were closed to traffic, though Alder and Bridge streets were open to people evacuating the Brown's Slough area. Several Bethel power lines remain down.
The city reported that flooded homes appeared to be stable, and while damage was still being assessed, it seemed that no roads had washed out.
Bethel Police are advising people to remain at home and off the roads unless necessary.
City officials said the water looked to be on track to recede. Sunday morning’s high tide reached nearly 4.6 feet. The high tide at just after 10 p.m. Sunday was forecast to be just under a foot.
Winds were also expected to continue calming in the Bethel area.
To report any flood related issues in Bethel, people should call 907-545-3781. For emergencies, dial 911.
Communities to the north brace for high winds and flooding
The Norton Sound village of Shaktoolik relocated over half of its population to Unalakleet ahead of the storm. Local officials said that elders from both communities were moved to a health care facility on higher ground northeast of town.
In Unalakleet, wind gusts peaked at 69 mph Sunday and the town experienced a series of power outages. Unalakleet Valley Electric Cooperative has since repaired the lines and restored power.
According to the National Weather Service, coastal flooding in Norton Sound communities was expected to be far below previous forecasts. The highest levels are expected late Sunday evening, although they are forecast to be lower than during the storm that hit the region earlier in the week.
Nome avoided the worst impacts of the storm, with minimal damage reported around town.
The low-pressure center of the storm had reached Kotzebue by 5 p.m. Sunday.
The National Weather Service expects flooding in Kotzebue and other Northwest Arctic coastal communities, with waters forecast to rise 3 to 5 feet above the high tide line, peaking between Sunday and Monday evening. The flooding is forecast to be less severe than the storm on Oct. 8.
The region remains under a high wind warning until Monday morning, with sustained winds forecast for 30 to 50 mph and gusts up to 70 mph.
An emergency shelter is open in Kotzebue at the middle school gymnasium. The city is offering transportation help for elders and people with reduced mobility. People who need help getting to the shelter should call police dispatch.
The storm is expected to continue tracking north before weakening in the Beaufort Sea.
