Crews are working to fix Alaska Native villages devastated by flooding. But will residents return?
November 6, 2025
Crews are working to repair remote Alaska Native villages that were devastated by the remnants of a typhoon last month. But it’s unclear how many of the 1,600 displaced residents will return. Some residents say that even if short-term repairs are completed, it’s doubtful their villages can persist in their current locations as rising seas, erosion, melting permafrost and storms worsened by climate change threaten inundation year after year. Around the country, a few communities imperiled by human-caused global warming have taken steps to relocate, but it’s enormously expensive and can take decades. Meanwhile, some residents evacuated to Anchorage say they don’t think they will ever return to their traditional way of life.