Typhoon Halong Hits Native Alaska Villages
Native Alaska villages were already on the front lines of climate change. Then a typhoon hit, laying bare the vulnerability of these communities to climate change due to centuries-old policies.
Typhoon Halong swept through western Alaska, bringing towering wind speeds, record storm surge, and widespread flooding to nearly 50 Alaska Native communities across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta near the Bering Sea.
- At least one person died
- 1,500 adults and children, mostly Yup’ik, were displaced from the villages
- 90 percent of homes in the coastal village of Kipnuk were decimated
- 35 percent of homes in Kwigillingok were destroyed, with toxic chemicals spilling into its freshwater supply
“It’s going to take years to recover from the disaster,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski at the Alaska Federation of Natives’ annual convention last month. “After the floodwaters recede, and after the damage to the homes and the fish camp is calculated, there’s so much work that remains and so much healing that is needed.
Author's summary: Climate change affects Native Alaska villages.