The storm that slammed into Alaska’s west coast last weekend dealt a dramatic blow to food security in Chevak, where people are reeling after the storm destroyed boats, gear and many of the tools they use to hunt and fish for their main sources of food.
Emily Schwing, special to Alaska Public MediaChevak resident Ryan Bukowski says three freezers at his home filled with subsistence and store-bought foods completely thawed out during a three-day power outage after Western Alaska’s September 2022 storm.
The storm hit at the tail end of the fishing season and just as the berry-picking season was ending. It’s also the middle of the moose-hunting season. It’s not just boats and motors that are now gone. Video on social media during the storm shows small, square plywood shacks floating away. Those sheds held all kinds of equipment: life jackets, gas cans, fishing nets, camping gear — all the tools required for subsistence. The community stands on a tall bluff along the Chevak River, 17 miles from the Bering Sea coast. The storm surge brought so much water inland that for a few hours, it was as if Chevak were right at the coast.
On Wednesday, Leemon Joe had the cowling off his boat motor. As a light evening rain fall, he wiped mud and debris from inside the boat motor motor with an old towel.Joe said the motor was completely submerged in the river for three days.The boat was still parked at the riverbank on Friday.