Climate change has finally caught up to this Alaska village
Published 25 Oct 2019, 10:58 BST
Reese John plays with his slingshot on a piling from a recently demolished home in Newtok. Just a few dozen feet away are crumbling cliffs of permafrost falling into the Ninglik River.
Photograph by Katie Orlinsky, National GeographicAndrea Andy cleans freshly caught river herring before drying the fish out in the sun.
Photograph by Katie Orlinsky, National GeographicThe Newtok School will be shuttered as more and more children move to the new community in Mertarvik.
Photograph by Katie Orlinsky, National GeographicAs permafrost thaws, cemeteries in Alaska, like this one in Newtok, are becoming more like marshes, destroying wooden coffins and the bodies laid to rest inside them. Some have completely washed away.
Photograph by Katie Orlinsky, National GeographicThe ceiling of Jasmine Kassaiuli’s bedroom recently split as a result of thawing permafrost, which is destroying the house's foundation.
Photograph by Katie Orlinsky, National Geographic