![After a storm swamped remote communities in western Alaska, search and rescue efforts are underway using military and state air resources. [Credit: Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Facebook page]](https://flyingmag1.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/558889962_1252313206934588_8845095659573323303_n.jpg?width=937&height=700)
Aviation resources from the U.S. military and Alaska were mobilized to search for people missing after a powerful storm moved through western part of the state over the weekend.
State officials said the storm was the remnants of Typhoon Halong and brought with it hurricane-force winds.
According to the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, agencies and units including Alaska state troopers, the Alaska Air National Guard, the Alaska Army National Guard, and the U.S. Coast Guard have launched rescue aircraft to coastal villages swamped by storm surge and battered by high winds. In some areas the surge was more than 6.3 feet above normal high tide.
According to the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, winds as high as 100 mph battered the communities of Nome, Bethel, Kotzebue, Kipnuk, and Kwigillingok, and flooding knocked several homes off their foundations and turned streets into lakes filled with debris.
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As of Monday at noon PST, a total of 51 lives have been saved through joint rescue operations in the communities of Kipnuk and Kwigilingok. State officials reported at least 34 have been rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard thus far.
Rescue personnel are acting on secondhand reports of missing people, as the storm knocked out communication in the area. In the best of times the area is remote, as there are few roads, and people get around using boats, snowmobiles, and aircraft. Three people were medically evacuated from Kipnuk to Bethel for a higher level of medical care.
Jeremy Zidek, spokesperson for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, told the Associated Press that there are reports of people being in the homes that floated away.
Assets deployed for search and rescue include:
• Alaska Air National Guard 176th Wing:
— HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter (210th Rescue Squadron)
— HC-130J Combat King II aircraft (211th Rescue Squadron)
— Guardian Angels, Pararescuemen and Combat Rescue Officers (212th Rescue Squadron)
• Alaska Army National Guard 207th Aviation Troop Command:
— UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter from Bethel
— HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
• U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak:
— HC-130J Hercules aircraft
— Two MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters
