A recent Interior Department grant aims to help residents in Newtok move to higher ground, but it’s just a sliver of what’s needed.

Melting permafrost and severe erosion have plagued the community for decades. The most recent storm brought waves so fierce, the water claimed roughly half of the 80 or so remaining feet of land that stands between the back end of the school and the edge of the Ningliq river.

A site visit to Newtok on September 30, shows severe erosion from impacts of storm (typhoon Merbok). The images show both severe permafrost melt and river erosion.

Rising sea levels will threaten three times more people in the next 30 years than previously thought, according to the latest scientific estimates. Among the hundreds of millions of people worldwide facing the threat are the 400 residents of Newtok, Alaska. Rising river and eroding land is pushing the entire community to relocate, despite emotional and logistical hurdles.

A storm system during the last week of November brought high winds and seas to Newtok and other western Alaska communities.