Rapid erosion and permafrost degradation mean school district officials are in a race to shore up the building for the remainder of the school year.

Dead birds suspected to have died from Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza have been found on Kigigak Island and Tutakoke River in Alaska, with other bird species displaying unusual behaviors.

As of June 1, laboratory testing was still underway and had not yet fully confirmed which variant of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza the migratory bird had, and there are other possible detections this year, according to Alaska State Veterinarian Dr. Robert Gerlach.

Melting permafrost and severe erosion have plagued the community for decades. The most recent storm brought waves so fierce, the water claimed roughly half of the 80 or so remaining feet of land that stands between the back end of the school and the edge of the Ningliq river.

A site visit to Newtok on September 30, shows severe erosion from impacts of storm (typhoon Merbok). The images show both severe permafrost melt and river erosion.

The aftermath of Typhoon Merbok left fuel tanks floating and home flooded, but locals also saw an opportunity.

Storms can bring a bounty to the beach - driftwood sometimes or in this case, clams! But be careful out there. There are new concerns about emerging levels of harmful algae in Western Alaska waters, which could impact shellfish and human health.

On September 17, 2023 Typhoon Merbok hit the coast of Tununak, Alaska. Here are some photos taken by Roseanne Panruk, after the storm caused by Typhoon Merbok

"Since about May 25, crews have been seeing multiple species showing what we believe are signs of highly pathogenic avian influenza. The signs we are seeing widespread is a headshaking that we equate to "getting the cobwebs out", like a person may do when they first wake up. This behavior occurs regularly every couple minutes. This behavior has been observed in: black brant, cackling geese, bar-tailed godwits, dunlin, lapland longspurs, spectacled eiders, emperor geese, greater white-fronted geese, sabines gulls, glaucous gulls, and red-necked phalaropes."

This small owl was sighted perching under a building. LEO Network looking for some help on an identification.

The tomcod harvests in the Kongiganak, Cavuuneq and Ilkivik Rivers have been a failure. Also in other areas, based on observations from Chevak and Chefornak. Both the surface and bottom trawl results show a clear decline in tomcod biomass in the North Bering Sea.

Not a single catch was reported in the village of Chefornak. Meanwhile in Kivalina, dozens and dozens of tomcods are pictured and posted on "The Alaska Life" Facebook page.

Thawing permafrost and erosion is resulting in the loss of infrastructure in Newtok. These images show impacts on utility poles, and the shoreline.

Kwigillingok, a community on the Bering Sea coast of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, is used to some flooding during high tides. But in recent years, that flooding has grown more severe, reaching a new threshold last week.

Three foxes from three Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta communities have tested positive for rabies in recent weeks.

Abnormally warm winters in 2018 and 2019, in which the ground did not freeze solid enough to support heavy equipment, delayed completion of this project.

In Chefornak, a family was forced to evacuate their home because a sinkhole caused by thawing permafrost formed underneath it. That family had to move into a building intended to be a quarantine facility.

This has become the new norm across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Late winters and sudden thawing have turned roads into slush and made rivers and sloughs, which are necessary for travel, less safe because they take longer to freeze.

A storm system during the last week of November brought high winds and seas to Newtok and other western Alaska communities.

"This is the first time I've seen this kind of caterpillar in this area."