Jack Kelley's Wordpress

The time has come where we can truly see the effects of climate change.

People of The Yup’ik village have been forced out of their homes due to climate change.

For more than two decades, people of The Yup’ik village have been preparing to move out from their homeland, climate change being the reason for that. The land around their homes has started to crumble away and sink, along with increased flooding risks due to thawing permafrost and erosion.

Families have started to move all of their belongings to the village of Mertarvik, which is about ten miles Southeast of The Yup’ik village. While it is important that the families move out of their old homes, people of The Yup’ik village believe it will take until at least 2023 for the amount of new homes to be built in the village of Mertarvik that will be necessary. “It will be challenging, but this is a very strong community.” Said a development manager with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.

National Geographic claims that this won’t be the only place this happens to. National Geographic reporter, Craig Welch, reported that there will be school teachers on both islands so the kids will still be able to attend school. Welch also reported that it is not only hard on the parents to leave their homes, but on the kids as well as they leave some of their friends behind.