Bethel, Alaska (11:30 a.m. AKT, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025) —Typhoon Halong has caused flooding and extensive damage to multiple communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region. The communities of Kwigillingok and Kipnuk have sustained the greatest damage.
Based on conversations with community leaders, about 400 people are sheltering in the school in Kwigillingok, and 680 people are sheltering in the school in Kipnuk. Power and cell service is absent or limited in these communities. Thirty-seven homes have been lost, and a significant number of others are significantly damaged. Many of these homes housed multiple generations of families. Three deaths have been reported. Lack of cell service and damage to the runway in Kipnuk makes it impossible for planes to land, complicating support efforts.
At the request of village leaders, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC) has sent medical providers and prescription medications to Kwigillingok, Kipnuk, Tuntutuliak, and Chefornak. These teams are providing care to those in need and assessing the need for additional medical support. Plans are underway to evacuate about 40 people, mostly elders with complex medical conditions and pregnant women, to the regional hospital in Bethel for additional care.
YKHC has also sent multiple pallets of water, food, and sanitation supplies—such as hand sanitizer, diapers, and wipes—to Kipnuk, Kwigillingok, Tuntutuliak, Napakiak, Chefornak, and Nightmute. YKHC’s Behavioral Health teams are scheduled to travel to Kipnuk and Kwigillingok today.
Today, YKHC is working with the State of Alaska, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and the Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP) to obtain and distribute other urgent supplies, including additional food, water, baby formula, diapers, bedding, and more. The need is great.
YKHC is partnering with these groups to conduct a needs assessment for homes in affected communities. With nearly 1,000 people displaced from their homes, we anticipate a significant short- and long-term need for housing in the region. YKHC representatives are working with the National Guard armory in Bethel to establish a short-term shelter for people without homes. YKHC’s Behavioral Health team will be at the shelter to offer support to those who request it.
From YKHC President and CEO Dan Winkelman: “I thank the Guard and other military personnel for their quick search and rescue efforts. YKHC’s medical teams were on the ground in four villages yesterday and reported severe damage, especially in Kipnuk and Kwigillingok.”
With over 680 people in Kipnuk at the school gym and over 400 people sheltering at the school in Kwigillingok, conditions are expected to worsen in the next few days. Thirty-seven homes in Kwigillingok were lost. We need immediate assistance from the State and federal governments to restore power and water, complete housing assessments, make the Kipnuk runway operational, and provide a significant amount of water, food, and supplies to those villages and others.”
About the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation
The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC) administers a comprehensive healthcare system to 58 federally recognized tribes in southwest Alaska. The corporation operates 41 village clinics, five sub-regional clinics, a regional hospital, and multiple behavioral health facilities.
The Yukon-Kuskokwim region covers 75,000 square miles, approximately the size of Oregon, and is home to nearly 3,000 people who live in 58 rural communities, none of which are connected by road. The communities range in size from 25 to over 1,000 residents.
Bethel, the regional service and transportation hub, has a population of nearly 7,000. It is accessible from the villages by airplane, boat, and, in winter, snowmobiles and four-wheelers. During the winter, cars also use frozen rivers as roads. Each tribe in YKHC’s service area has authorized the corporation to act on its behalf in negotiations with the federal Indian Health Service to provide health services under Title V of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975.