People in Seven Alaskan Towns Are Fleeing as Soon as Possible
Alaska is a state with beautiful scenery, lots of wildlife, and a lot of different cultures. The impact of climate change, the economy going down, and social problems mean that not all of its towns are great places to live.
Some towns have a lot of problems, like rising sea levels, melting permafrost, land erosion, high crime rates, low incomes, bad schools, and not enough chances. Because of these things, a lot of people have left these towns quickly to find better lives elsewhere. Here are seven Alaskan towns that people are leaving because they are bad.
Newtok
Newtok is a place that is very important to Yupik culture and history because it was there that the first Yupik and Russian explorers met in the 18th century. But because the Earth is warming, the permafrost that the town is built on is melting. At the same time, the rising Ninglick River is wearing away at the shoreline and riverline by about 70 feet every year.
Inundation is projected to reach full height by 2025. The first Yupik people began moving to their new town, Mertarvik, in 2019. It is on the side of a volcano on an island. Moving has been a long and difficult process that has involved many funding sources, military help, and problems with logistics.
Kivalina
They have lived in the area for more than a thousand years and live in Kivalina, which is a town. But the town is also in danger because the sea level is rising, the sea ice is melting, and the coast is being worn away. This makes the town more likely to be hit by storms and floods.
By 2025, the town should no longer be livable. Since 1992, the residents have been trying to move to a better area but have had trouble getting money, land, and agreement. The town has also sued several oil and gas companies for putting their lives and ways of making a living at risk by adding to global warming.
Galena
The town of Galena was once a busy trading stop and a key military base during both World Wars II and the Cold War. But the town has been hit by natural disasters, falling property values, and a drop in population. The town was hit by a terrible flood in 2013 that damaged or destroyed 90% of the buildings and facilities.
The flood was caused by an ice jam on the Yukon River, which got worse when the permafrost melted and the flow of the river changed. After the flood, a lot of people left the town, either temporarily or permanently. Some haven’t come back because there aren’t enough resources, services, and chances for them there.
Tanana
This town is at the point where the Tanana and Yukon rivers meet. It is one of the longest places people have lived in Alaska. The town is cut off from the rest of the state, though, as you can only get there by plane, boat, or sled. There are a lot of crimes in the town, and the cost of living is high.
A citizen of the town killed two Alaska State Troopers during a fight in 2014. The town was shocked by the crime. The event brought to light the town’s deep-seated social problems and pressures, including drug abuse, domestic violence, and mental health problems. A lot of people who live in the town have left to find safer and better places to live.
Cordova
Cordova is a town famous for its fishing, especially its halibut and salmon. The town does depend on the fishing business, though, which makes it vulnerable to changes in the market, the rules, and the environment.
It has been hard for the town in recent years because of things like the loss of fish stocks, competition from imported goods, the effects of oil spills, and the danger of invasive species. Since 2011, a series of avalanches damaged the only highway that linked the town to the rest of the state. This means that the town is also cut off from the road system. Many people have left the town because it’s hard to make ends meet, it’s lonely, and the future is unclear.
Whittier
Whittier is a town at the beginning of the Passage Canal that a lot of tourists and cruise ships like to visit. But the town is also known for its strange and suffocating living conditions—most of the people who live there live in the Begich Towers, a 14-story building that was built by the military in the 1950s.
Schools, hospitals, post offices, food stores, and police stations are all in the same building. This town is also known for its brutal weather. It usually gets 250 inches of rain and 150 inches of snow a year, and fog and clouds cover the sky a lot of the time. Many people have left the town because it is too public, not diverse enough, and doesn’t have enough facilities.
Barrow
A town called Barrow is at the very top of the United States. It is the biggest and oldest settlement of the Inupiat people. The town is one of the most extreme and remote places to live, though, with long times of darkness and light, freezing temperatures, and not much access to the outside world.
Climate change is also having an impact on the town. For example, the sea ice is melting, the shoreline is being worn away, animals are moving, and the usual way of life is changing. Suicide, drunkenness, and violence are some of the social problems the town has had. These problems have been linked to people losing their sense of identity, culture, and purpose. A lot of people who lived in the town have left to find better places to live.
In conclusion
There are a lot of fun things and possibilities in Alaska, but there are also a lot of problems and challenges. Some of its towns have become less attractive places to live because of these things more than others. Lots of people have left these towns quickly in search of better places to live.
