The remnants of Typhoon Halong over the weekend have left at least one woman dead and more than 1,000 people displaced in Western Alaska.

The disaster happened right before the start of the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) Convention and the Elders & Youth Conference (EYC).

The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden with assistance of Rhonda McBride from our flagship station KNBA reports, the storm is already shaping the tone of this year’s events.

AFN always focuses on issues most pertinent to local Indigenous communities – and this year, a catastrophic storm that battered predominantly Alaska Native villages is already the center of the conversations.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) spoke at the beginning of EYC, the traditional prologue to the main AFN event.

“As we gather for this sharing and this collective convening, let us keep in mind those that are in harm’s way and those who are out there to be with them and to help them.”

Communities and rescue groups are still looking for missing people and assessing the damage from the storm. Meanwhile, AFN and other local Indigenous organizations are looking for ways to help.

AFN is one of twelve mostly Indigenous organizations that formed the Western Alaska Disaster Relief Fund to provide assistance to villages.

On Thursday, AFN plans to hold a blanket dance fundraiser for the disaster.

Roy Agloinga is the president of the First Alaskans Institute that hosts EYC. On Sunday, he spoke about the destruction from the storm.

“It’s easy to feel distant, but I ask you to lean in, because while the storm may be hundreds of miles away, the people affected are our neighbors, our friends, and our family.”

Marilyn Attla is a healer from the Interior who participated in EYC. She encouraged people to pray and acknowledge the stress of the situation.

She also invited attendees, especially young people, to talk about what they feel and consider visiting a healing station.

“You have to make up your own mind to be resilient. Any type of loss that you’re going to go through in your life, any type of happening problem, you have to make up your own mind to overcome it.”

EYC is running at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage through Wednesday.

AFN is scheduled there from Thursday to Saturday.

An aluminum boat rests on debris in Kipnuk, Alaska amid destruction left by the remnants of Typhoon Halong. (Photo: Jaqui Lang)

Meanwhile, community groups and businesses across the state are coordinating storm relief efforts for the devastated communities.

Alaska Public Media’s Eric Stone has more.

The Alaska Community Foundation (ACF) has partnered with local and regional organizations to create the Western Alaska Disaster Relief Fund.

ACF’s Ashley Ellingson says they’re distributing the funds to communities hit hardest.

“It’s geared towards immediate support and then long term resilience. The thing that’s unique about this fund is that we have partnered with local and regional organizations to make sure that the money goes to the areas that it’s needed most.”

The fund is a partnership with the AFN, the Association of Village Council Presidents, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and a number of other groups serving Alaskans in the region.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the fund had raised more than $300,000 from donors.

Jenni Ragland, chair of Alaska Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, says cash donations are a better option than goods, since storing and transporting items can present challenges of their own.

“While it may seem impersonal, cash really is the best opportunity to help meet those immediate needs that are coming our way. It provides flexibility for us to purchase exactly what’s needed, to procure those items quickly and to get them into the hands of disaster survivors.”

More information about the effort is online at alaskacf.org.

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