In 2022, Typhoon Merbok destroyed nearly all of the boats Chevak residents used for subsistence harvests. That included Mark Ulroan’s 24-foot-boat and 90 horsepower Yamaha motor. More than a year after the storm, it’s still sitting at the bottom of the Ninglikfak River.
“With all that fishing gear stuff in there. My hunting gear and everything,” Ulroan said.
Like a lot of people in Chevak, Ulroan has more than one boat because he uses them for different things. The one that sank was his big boat. He used that one to travel more than 18 miles downriver to the Bering Sea so that he could collect driftwood off the coast, go fishing for salmon, and hunt seals.
Ulraon valued his boat and motor at about $30,000 and reported that loss to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). But he said that he only received $10,000 in individual assistance. He used those funds to buy a new 780 horsepower motor for a much smaller boat, one that is not safe to take out on the ocean. But it’s all he has, so he uses it anyway because he needs food.
On the road system in Alaska, people drive cars to Walmart, Fred Meyer, and Safeway to buy food. People do the same in Western Alaska, but they use boats, snowmachines, and ATVs for transportation; the land and waterways are their stores.
The loss of the boats in Chevak has hit residents like Stella Lake hard.
"We don't have transportation to bring us where the seasonal subsistence is,” Lake said.
Lake was also left in limbo after her boat sat submerged for days after Typhoon Merbok. She said that her boat motor alone was worth $20,000.
"I wish I knew about insurance and warranties," said Lake. "I would have gladly insured my motor and get it replaced. It’s a huge loss for me if it doesn’t work at all."
Lake's first application to FEMA for individual assistance was denied. She appealed and received some money, which she said that she used to replace a fish rack that was destroyed in the storm. What was left over helped pay for parts she needed to fix her boat motor, but that hasn’t helped much.
"'Cause my motor is still not working," Lake said.
Lake had hoped that repairs wouldn’t be too complicated, but that was before Coastal Villages Region Fund (CVRF) Mechanic Matthew Cholok got elbow deep into the project.
"There are some big parts of the electrical that we couldn't repair, like replace the ECM and a lot of the other stuff, sensors. So that's where a lot of her money had to go into,” Cholok said.
Cholok has been working almost non-stop for the last year on Lake’s and other boats, as well as snowmachines and ATVs that belong to friends, family, and neighbors in Chevak. In the aftermath of Typhoon Merbok he’s had so much work that he hasn’t been able to maintain his own boat.
“People’s lives are on the line,” Cholok said. “That's the personal vehicles that they used to go and subsistence harvest, seal hunt, moose hunt. Whatever kind of food that we can harvest out in the wilderness. It's really important for us because it's not just the way of life or our culture. It's more. It's an offset to the high prices that we have to pay for.”
Lake and Ulroan are lucky that they have boats at all. This village of about 1,000 people lost 90% of its boats during Typhoon Merbok.
Many of them are still visible, according to Earl Atchak, who often travels across the tundra. From the top of a hill on the north side of the village, he can see for miles across the land. There are dozens of boats littered across the area. And it’s not just the boats.
"Many of them still have fuel tanks, batteries and motors attached. And all the trash, gas, and everything, you name it,” Atchak said.
There has been some cleanup. A week after the storm, the United States Coast Guard hired a diving and salvage company for that work. But the agency hasn’t shared the details of that contract, including specifics about what was supposed to be done.
It’s unclear if there are any plans for future cleanup or to get these boats off of the tundra and back out on the water.
This reporting was supported by a grant from the Center for Rural Strategies and Grist.
