Mass Airlift Underway as Alaska Storm Wipes Out Villages

Military helicopters and large transports rescue Alaskans whose homes were destroyed.

Meg Godlewski

Friday, October 17, 2025 at 02:43 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Alaska Air National Guard C-17 Globemaster III aircrew, assigned to the 176th Wing, evacuate approximately 300 displaced western Alaska residents following Typhoon Halong, Oct. 15, 2025. [Credit: Alaska National Guard/Staff Sgt. Joseph Moon]

Key Takeaways:

A severe storm, fueled by Typhoon Halong remnants, devastated coastal Alaskan villages on October 12, destroying homes, causing at least one death, and rendering entire communities uninhabitable.
A "historic airlift" is underway, utilizing military helicopters and C-17s, to evacuate hundreds of displaced residents to shelters, with many being relocated hundreds of miles away to cities like Anchorage due to local capacity limits.
The remoteness of the affected region and the scale of destruction pose significant logistical challenges for ongoing relief efforts, damage assessment, and restoring essential services, raising concerns about the villages' habitability by winter.

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What has been called one of the “most significant airlifts in Alaskan history” is underway as military helicopters and C-17s are transporting hundreds of people from coastal villages left devastated by a powerful storm that swept through the area on October 12.

The storm, fueled by the remnants of Typhoon Halong, washed away homes in low-lying areas, some of them with people still inside. At least one person was killed, and two others are missing.