In western Alaska, the remnants of Typhoon Halong brought hurricane-force winds and catastrophic flooding to coastal communities, pushing entire houses off their foundations.

Rescue aircraft were sent to the tiny Alaskan villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, where there were reports of up to 20 people possibly unaccounted for, said Jeremy Zidek, spokesperson for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

“We have received reports that people’s homes have floated away and that people were potentially in those homes,” Zidek told The Associated Press.

At least eight homes were swept away in Kipnuk and at least four homes were swept away in nearby Kwigillingok, Zidek said.

He said Sunday evening that search efforts were continuing, and that they were still trying to determine exactly how many people hadn't been accounted for.

The area is among one of the most isolated in the U.S., where some communities have few roads and residents use boardwalks, boats and snowmobiles to get around, Zidek said.

Nome, Alaska Fire Chief Jim West Jr. said preparation kept the storm's impact from being worse in his community.

"We were watching the weather. We involved NOAA Weather Service out of Fairbanks. They kind of guided us through. And it's been just been all hands on deck, just getting ready, equipment ready, in case it hit us as bad as it did. We were prepared more this time around."

Sam Dapcevich of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said that even after the storm passes through, there is still more work to do.

this is going to include helping communities assess their drinking water and waste-water systems. We'll be helping out with any spills or contamination and supporting, you know, safe clean-up and recovery operations," he said.