A U.S. Air Force plane touched down in Alaska's Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Wednesday, carrying hundreds of evacuees fleeing the remnants of Typhoon Halong.

The typhoon brought record water levels to two low-lying communities on Alaska's west coast and washed away homes — some with people inside. At least one person was killed and two are missing.

Makeshift shelters were quickly established and swelled to about 1,500 people, an extraordinary number in a sparsely populated region where communities are reachable by air or water.

The communities of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok near the Bering Sea saw water levels more than 6 feet (1.8 meters) above the highest normal tide line.

Leaders asked the state to evacuate the more than 1,000 residents in those villages, the state emergency management office said.

About 300 evacuees were being brought to Anchorage on Wednesday, about 500 miles (805 kilometers) east of the battered coastline villages, according to the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

The evacuees, which included children, disembarked from the plane before being transported on re-purposed school buses to a nearby temporary accommodation site.