The Merbok storm of 2022 impacted the Old Russian Cemetery in Saint Michael. This cemetery was created in the 1830s when the northernmost outpost of the Russian American Company was established in that village. People were interred in that cemetery for about 100 years. The cemetery is on a 30 foot high bluff overlooking the bay.
The erosion of the Old Russian Cemetery from the impacts of the storm Merbokis also an unfinished process. The earth is actively moving, falling onto the beach bit by bit and sometimes in large chunks every day, to reach a state of stabilization after the storm.
Erosion of Russian era graves is a concern because of history with epidemic, and tribal office has to collect and rebury remains.
While taking photos this afternoon of the snow ice on various objects near the Native Village of Unalakleet, which was on the approximate order of 4 minutes and with very little wind (playground, grass, powerlines), my hands were cold due to the "wetness" in the air and the ambient air temperature.
Thawing permafrost is warping water and sewer lines. Along the coast and rivers, erosion is threatening the lakes that communities use for drinking water or the lagoons where they dump sewage.
About 10 miles of above-ground water and sewer lines froze in mid-January. ANTHC suspects the lines were damaged when melting permafrost caused building foundations to shift.
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