The Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management confirmed Sunday that eight homes in Kipnuk have been knocked off their foundations, while multiple houses in Kwigillingok floated to different parts of town or across rivers, with some residents being trapped inside.

Officials in Alaska rushed Tuesday to evacuate and find housing for people from tiny coastal villages hit by the remnants of Typhoon Halong.

Its timing means recovery will be even more difficult than usual for these hard-hit communities, as Alaska meteorologist Rick Thoman of the University Alaska Fairbanks explains. Disasters in remote Alaska are not like disasters anywhere in the lower 48 states,

Emergency crews airlifted dozens of people in western Alaska to safety, as flooding caused by the remnants of Typhoon Halong wreaked havoc on remote coastal communities and tore houses off their foundations.

Western Alaska was being slammed by flooding rains and hurricane-force winds from the remnants of Typhoon Halong that are set to impact multiple communities in the region through Monday. The big picture: The storm had left 20 people unaccounted for in Kwigillingok and up to eight homes had been pushed from their foundations in Kipnuk,