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.
Permafrost is becoming exposed in Western Alaska, in areas where the landscape transitions to tundra.
Erosion of Russian era graves is a concern because of history with epidemic, and tribal office has to collect and rebury remains.
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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