Typhoon Halong destroyed several coastal villages in western Alaska, forcing the evacuation of as many as 2,000 people. Homes have been flooded, pushed off their foundations and, in some cases, swept entirely out to sea. Here, floodwaters inundate the village of Kotzebue. Photo by Alaska DOT.
The American Red Cross is on the ground helping in western Alaska where Typhoon Halong destroyed several coastal villages, forcing the evacuation of as many as 2,000 people after their communities were left in ruins by the storm.
Homes have been flooded, pushed off their foundations and, in some cases, swept entirely out to sea. The typhoon's remnants also damaged critical infrastructure including roads, communication lines and air and seaport facilities.
As another storm bears down on the same communities, the Red Cross is working with state, tribal and local officials to support thousands of people in need.
Hundreds of Red Cross disaster workers from across the country are being deployed to support local residents. This could be a prolonged relief operation lasting months as villages have been left inaccessible or unlivable as winter sets in.
Some areas are only accessible by air or sea, with evacuees being airlifted by helicopter to Bethel, where Red Cross disaster workers will greet them and register them for their second flight to Anchorage, nearly 500 miles away. In Anchorage, Red Cross volunteers and partners are preparing to shelter, feed and support those forced out of the villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, among others. Air evacuations are beginning today and are expected to continue for several days.
As winter approaches, there are other villages in the region where residents have no power or running water, food they had stored for the winter now ruined and stoves used to heat their homes damaged. That damage could make the winter difficult in remote communities where people store food from hunting and fishing to help make it through the season. The Red Cross will also support people in these villages in addition to the relief operation with evacuees in Anchorage.
HOW YOU CAN HELP Thousands of people in Alaska have lost everything and will be unable to return home and begin their recovery while winter keeps them out of their villages for the next several months. People are depending on the Red Cross for help, and we need your support. Help people affected by disasters big and small — whenever and wherever they occur across the country — by making a gift to Red Cross Disaster Relief at redcross.org or by calling 1- 800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767)
You can also choose to donate by texting the word REDCROSS to 90999. Other ways to support include making a blood donation, volunteering, or learning lifesaving skills like First Aid/CPR/AED to keep yourself and your community safe.
Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) Through the generosity of our American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and Disaster Responder members, the American Red Cross is prepared before disaster strikes. ADGP and Disaster Responder members help secure a reliable funding base for disaster relief services that enables the Red Cross to respond immediately, meeting the needs of individuals and families affected by disaster.
Mission Leader Members: Amazon; American Airlines; Bank of America; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; Costco Wholesale; Dollar General; Lowe's; State Farm
ADGP $1M Members: Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Caterpillar Foundation; CMA CGM Foundation; Delta Air Lines; Enterprise Mobility Foundation; FedEx; Honda; Lilly Endowment Inc.; McDonald’s Corporation; Merck; Nationwide Foundation; The Pfizer Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; Takeda; Truist Foundation; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; Wells Fargo Foundation
ADGP $500k Members: ALDI; Altria Group; Aon; Baxter International Foundation; Boeing; Bread Financial; Capital One; Chick-fil-A; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Danaher Foundation; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental; Edison International Foundation; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Philanthropy; Fox Corporation; GE Aerospace Foundation; General Motors; Google.org; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; HCA Healthcare; The Home Depot Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; ; The Kroger Co. Foundation; Liberty Mutual Insurance; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Marathon Petroleum Corporation; Mastercard; Microsoft; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; Northrop Grumman Foundation; NTT Data; Paul Davis Restoration; PayPal; PepsiCo Foundation; PetSmart Charities; Southeastern Grocers and the SEG Gives Foundation; Stryker; Suburban Propane; Target; The TJX Companies, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; USAA; U.S. Bank Foundation; Visa Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; The Wawa Foundation; Wesco; Wingstop Restaurants; Yum! Brands; Zoetis Foundation
Disaster Responder Members: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe Foundation; The AES Corporation; Aflac; Albemarle Corporation; The Allstate Foundation; American Family Insurance; American Water Charitable Foundation; Ameriprise Financial; Assurant; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; Barclays; Bath & Body Works; Build-A-Bear Foundation; Canadian National Railway; CarMax; CDW; Charles Schwab Foundation; Cisco and Cisco Foundation; CNA Insurance; The Coca-Cola Foundation; The Deluxe Foundation; DENSO North America Foundation; DHL Supply Chain; The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation; Dollar Tree; Duke Energy; Elevance Health Foundation; Eli Lilly and Company Foundation; Equitable ; Erie Insurance; Fastenal; Grainger; HP Foundation; International Paper; Invitation Homes; Johnson & Johnson Foundation; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation ; L’Oréal; The Labcorp Charitable Foundation; Lenovo ; LKQ; Macy’s, Inc.; Major League Baseball; Martin Marietta; Masco Corporation; McKesson Foundation; MetLife Foundation; Mutual of Omaha Foundation; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Nike Foundation; Norfolk Southern; Northwestern Mutual; Novartis US Foundation; Old Dominion Freight Line; Oxy; Pacific Life Foundation; Prudential; Raymond James; RBC Foundation USA; Reckitt; Reynolds American Inc.; RTX; Ryder System, Inc.; Salesforce; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community; Security Finance’s Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Southwest Airlines; Stanley Black & Decker; Stephens; Tennant Company; Toyota Tsusho America, Inc.; Uber; U-Haul International; Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation; US Foods; Zurich
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.
Support all the urgent humanitarian needs of the American Red Cross.
Find a drive and schedule a blood donation appointment today.
Take a class and be ready to respond if an emergency strikes.
