Alaska: 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 Associated Press.
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.