Arctic sea ice loss and fierce storms leave Kivalina’s volunteer search and rescue fighting to protect their island from climate disasters
- Written by P. Joshua Griffin, Assistant Professor of Marine and Environmental Affairs and American Indian Studies, University of Washington
Kivalina is on a narrow barrier island exposed to storms off the Chukchi Sea.Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesAs winds and waves from Typhoon Merbok devastated communities along the coast of Western Alaska in 2022, Reppi Swan Sr.’s phone began to ring at Kivalina, a barrier island 80 miles above the Arctic Circle.
A neighboring family had lost 3 feet...
