Typhoon’s remnants strike western Alaska, killing one and leaving two missing

The remnants of Typhoon Halong hit western Alaska over the weekend, causing storm surges and floods that left one person dead and two still missing.

The Alaska State Troopers found the dead woman, whose identity they are holding pending notification of her next of kin, in Kwigillingok on Monday.

Search and rescue efforts by the troopers, Alaska’s National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard are ongoing for the two missing people.

The Pacific Ocean storm struck the state on Saturday and Sunday, affecting multiple towns.

“If you think about previous instances of major inundations, such as Hurricane Katrina, that will start to paint the picture for what you might imagine has happened along western Alaska,” Coast Guard Sector Western Alaska Capt. Christopher Culpepper said, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

The aftermath, Capt. Culpepper added, was “absolute devastation” and “the worst-case scenario.”

After the storm, state troopers and others have rescued at least 51 people and two dogs from Kwigillingok and nearby Kipnuk. The state troopers said at least eight homes in the two communities were unmoored from their foundations by strong winds and floodwaters.

As of Monday, 49 communities in western Alaska reported being hit or affected by the storm, with 1,400 residents displaced into 12 shelters, the Alaska Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management said.