The disaster declaration would unlock federal resources to respond to the Lower Kuskokwim and Lower Yukon regions in Western Alaska, in addition to the Northwest Arctic Borough.

The remnants of Typhoon Halong slammed the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, an area in Western Alaska hundreds of miles from the U.S. road system. More than a thousand people are displaced.

Kipnuk and Kwigillingok residents continued to land in Anchorage on the night of Oct. 16, carrying backpacks and plastic bags filled with their belongings as they exited a military transport plane.

That included residents of Kwigillingok, who were boarding military helicopters with the few possessions they could carry.

On Oct. 15 and 16, hundreds of people from Kipnuk and Kwigillingok boarded military transport planes headed for Anchorage, leaving their homes, belongings, and communities behind.

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance says she expects many people will stay through the winter.

Nearly all the homes in both Kipnuk and Kwigillingok were damaged, and a tribal administrator said that it was unsafe to stay.

Napakiak’s relocation coordinator said that basically every house in Napakiak and most businesses had water come into them when the remnants of Typhoon Halong hit the region. The city office and local clinic weren’t inundated, but still sustained damage.