Relocation on the Horizon: Kwigillingok’s Typhoon Halong Toll
In the remote village of Kwigillingok, Alaska, the aftereffects of Typhoon Halong are forcing residents to confront a stark choice: relocate or endure increasingly dangerous flooding. On a night when the sea surged higher than ever, homes rocked and water breached thresholds that had stood for generations. For Noah Andrew Sr. and many of his neighbors, the decision to move is not just about property damage; it is about safety, culture, and the reality of climate change on the Bering Sea coast.
Climate Signals in the Far North
Halong’s remnants carried more than wind and rain; they carried a warning. Coastal Alaska communities have long faced a delicate balance between traditional subsistence living and the unpredictable realities of a warming climate. Higher tides, storm surges, and thawing permafrost undermine the stability of homes built on permafrost or near vulnerable shorelines. Experts say the pattern is not isolated, and for many Indigenous villages, relocation has become a common, albeit painful, adaptation strategy.
What relocation entails
Relocation is more than moving a house out of harm’s way. It involves planning new infrastructure, ensuring access to subsistence resources, and preserving cultural connections to ancestral land. In Kwigillingok, leaders are coordinating with state agencies, tribal councils, and regional planners to evaluate safe sites, funding options, and long-term viability. The process also prompts questions about burial grounds, community institutions, and the transmission of traditional knowledge in a new environment.
Voices from the Community
Residents recount the emotional and practical challenges of living with repeated floods. For some families, leaving means leaving behind a sense of place that extends across generations. For others, it’s a matter of safeguarding children and elders from the relentless power of the sea. Local leaders emphasize a guided, participatory approach, ensuring that the voices of elders, who hold the community’s history, are central to the relocation plan.
Balancing tradition with resilience
Many in Kwigillingok are not abandoning their heritage; they are redefining it in a changing landscape. Home visits, land surveys, and climate resilience workshops are becoming routine. Community members are weighing retention of subsistence practices—seal hunting, fishing, and gathering—against the logistical realities of moving across the region. The hope is to maintain economic and cultural continuity while reducing risk to life and property.
Policy, Funding, and Federal Support
Relocating a village requires a mix of state funding, federal aid, and tribal assistance. After Typhoon Halong, regional and national agencies have signaled willingness to pursue resilient housing, flood-protection measures, and long-range planning. Yet, the path to a new site is complex, with environmental assessments, infrastructure upgrades, and ongoing support needed to ensure a smooth transition for residents who must adapt to a new community layout and climate realities.
What Comes Next
As Kwigillingok weighs its options, the broader question remains: how many more communities will face similar choices in the coming years? Typhoon Halong has underscored a growing pattern in which coastal Indigenous villages confront existential risks from climate change. The hope is that through careful planning, inclusive decision-making, and robust funding, relocation can become a pathway to safety without erasing the cultural fabric that binds residents to their ancestral homeland.
For now, families like Noah Andrew Sr.’s remain in a liminal space—earning time to decide, while preparing for the realities of a community reshaped by rising seas and shifting weather. The story of Kwigillingok is a microcosm of a larger tectonic shift happening along Alaska’s coastline: adaptation in action, born of necessity and guided by a resilient, culturally grounded people.
