Alaska Native Village Weighs Relocation After Deadly Typhoon

The remote Alaskan village of Kwigillingok stands nearly empty after Typhoon Halong’s remnants tore through the community last month, leaving only seven residents behind among scattered debris and damaged boardwalks. The devastating storm uprooted entire homes, carrying some miles away with families still inside, resulting in one death and two people still missing.

Darrel John, one of the few who stayed, navigated through debris-strewn walkways as he watched helicopters and small aircraft ferry the last evacuees to safety. The typhoon’s destruction has forced the village’s residents to confront a harsh reality: their coastal community may no longer be safe from increasingly severe storms driven by climate change.

The disaster in Kwigillingok highlights the growing vulnerability of Alaska’s Native villages to extreme weather events. Built on swampy terrain along Alaska’s western coast, these communities face mounting challenges as rising sea levels, coastal erosion, and more intense storms threaten their existence. Many villages are now considering the difficult decision to relocate to higher, more stable ground.

For Alaska’s Native communities, relocation means more than just moving buildings—it threatens to sever deep cultural and spiritual connections to ancestral lands. As climate impacts intensify, these villages find themselves on the frontlines of a crisis that forces impossible choices between physical safety and cultural survival. The aftermath of Typhoon Halong may mark a turning point for Kwigillingok and other vulnerable coastal communities across Alaska.