Alaska Air Forwarding: Supporting Alaska’s Halong Flood Victims
Typhoon Halong started as a powerful Category 4 storm over the Pacific Ocean near Japan in early October 2025. As it traveled toward Alaska, it weakened and turned into a massive extratropical cyclone (the storm’s remnant). However, it picked up unusual strength from warm ocean waters. Meteorologists described the storm’s path as highly unusual and difficult to predict.
When it finally hit the remote Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region of Western Alaska, it brought:
- Hurricane-force winds (up to 100 mph).
- Record-breaking storm surge (over 6 feet in some towns).
This combination caused catastrophic damage, sweeping away homes and destroying infrastructure. Some villages, like Kipnuk, lost up to 90% of their homes, and hundreds of people in coastal Alaska had to be emergency airlifted to Anchorage. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy estimated that many people won’t be able to return home for at least 18 months because the area is too remote to rebuild before the winter freeze. Debris cleanup and critical infrastructure repairs are being prioritized and will continue well into 2026. According to the Alaska Department of Transportation, the storm team response so far has been a massive collaboration among state and federal agencies.
Alaska Air Forwarding assisted the Red Cross relief effort by shipping cots to shelters for displaced people. We not only ship to Alaska, but we have offices here, and we’ve built relationships with people in these communities, so we were glad to assist with delivering critical supplies for the recovery. If you would like to and are able, you can help too, by donating to the American Red Cross Alaska Storms and Flood 2025 fund directly or to other organizations dedicated to assisting those affected.
