Typhoon Disaster in Western Alaska
A recent typhoon in Western Alaska has raised concerns about the region's future, particularly for the Indigenous people who have lived there for millennia.
The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is especially vulnerable to climate change, and the latest storm has displaced over 1,500 people, killed at least one, and left villages in ruins.
Storms are going to get worse, and it’s not going to be livable,” said Mike Williams Sr., a tribal leader from the Kuskokwim River village of Akiak. “We’re past the tipping point, maybe.
Torre Jorgenson, a Fairbanks-based scientist who has studied the region for decades, also has doubts about the region's future.
The region's existential crisis worsens as climate change forces combine, threatening the land and way of life of Alaska's Yupik people.
Author's summary: Climate change threatens Western Alaska's future.