Napakiak’s village center sits just a few hundred feet away from the rapidly eroding Kuskokwim River bank on September 27, 2018.
That new school building is now under construction. For now, though, students attend classes in a partly-demolished building that’s roughly 80 feet from the edge of the river – about the length of two shipping containers. Nelson said that the money will go toward around 300 feet of new road and 10 house pads in the new subdivision site.
“The real challenge, honestly, is time,” Pritchett said. “Climate impacts are only becoming more common and more rapid. There’s a lot that goes into the process of obtaining FEMA funding, and the steps and requirements can be opaque. We’re trying to be more thoughtful about our outreach to communities because we’re realizing information is important, and accessing information is just as important.