Overview

The Native Village of Cev’aq (Chevak), located in Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, is facing intensifying threats from erosion, permafrost thaw, and flooding–slow-onset and compounding hazards that are too often overlooked by existing disaster relief and climate adaptation frameworks.

A culvert installed to manage spring flooding inadvertently redirected water toward the bluff, where thawing permafrost had already weakened the ground, further accelerating erosion, destabilizing the land, and putting homes, critical infrastructure, and residents’ safety at risk. Despite broad awareness of the crisis among multiple federal and state agencies, jurisdictional uncertainty and siloed programmatic responses have delayed coordinated action. This case study calls for critical policy reforms and interagency coordination, while honoring the community’s resilience and leadership in confronting the realities of escalating climate threats.