Video shows hundreds airlifted from flood-ravaged Alaska villages

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00:00Hundreds of people living in remote villages in western Alaska were airlifted to safety Thursday.

00:06The mass evacuations come after the remnants of Typhoon Halong brought high winds and heavy

00:11rains to the region Sunday, which caused flooding that destroyed homes in Kipnok and Kwilingak.

00:19The water rose more than six feet higher than the usual highest tide level,

00:23according to the Associated Press. One person is confirmed dead due to the flooding,

00:28and at least two people are missing. More than 1,400 people have been forced to leave their

00:33homes. Residents spoke with the Associated Press about the heroin ordeal. It's a nightmare what we

00:39went through. But I thank God we are together. It was like a big earthquake, especially with water.

00:52We were scared that the glass window was going to break because the water was hidden. The water

01:00was hidden the window really pretty hard. The storm caused historic flooding that destroyed homes in

01:05native low-lying communities. The flooding was so powerful that entire homes were swept away.

01:11Tragically, some people were still inside those homes when it happened. The villages are so remote that

01:17during this time of year, they can only be reached by boat or plane, since they aren't connected to the

01:22state's main road system. Now, because of this, many people had to be flown by military plane to

01:28Anchorage, which is about 500 miles east, in order to find safety and temporary housing.

01:34Evacuees were given a safe place to stay. The Red Cross set up a temporary shelter at the Alaska

01:39Airlines Sports Center.

01:40In our village, we'd say that we're native strong. We have native pride and nothing can break us down. But

01:48this is the hardest that we went through. But everybody's sticking together. The village of

01:53Kipnuk is sticking together. Everybody's talking to each other, making sure everybody's okay,

01:58hugging them and making sure that they have everything they need. So everybody's taking care of

02:04everybody. We're all people that we're all alive. The Associated Press spoke to a climate specialist

02:12from the University of Alaska Fairbanks who said rebuilding will be tough, especially with winter

02:18approaching. I think the main thing I would restress is that the recovery is just complicated

02:25because these are remote communities, because there is no road connections. And many of the airstrips,

02:33you know, are not big enough. You can't physically land, you know, a jet aircraft in there to haul in

02:41lots of supplies. They're not they're not built for that.

02:45Vice President J.D. Vance said the federal government is working closely with Senator Dan

02:49Sullivan and Governor Mike Dunleavy to get residents the help that they need. President Trump and I are

02:55closely tracking the storm devastation that resulted in over 1000 citizens being airlifted out of Alaska

03:01villages. Alaskans, our prayers are with you. Vance posted on X. For Straight Arrow News,

03:08I'm Lauren Keenan. If you want more on this story, download the Straight Arrow News app or visit san.com.