In late September 2022, Typhoon Merbok devastated communities along more than 1,300 miles of Alaska’s western coast. The storm wiped out homes, seawalls, roads, airstrips, and the water supply system in several cities and towns.
After Merbok, the water supply in these towns and villages was contaminated. In some cases, the water supply system stopped working or was completely shut down. If I can, I avoid drinking the water here, said Blache Okbaok-Garnie, mayor of the Alaskan town of Teller. After Merbok, the water is not good without filtering or boiling it. I felt the water in my stomach.
Donations of bottled water were received, but shipping the cases to Alaska not only made the cost rise dramatically, but also created plastic waste. After shipping, the price of a case of water that cost $5 rose to $35.
The region has a high level of poverty and unemployment rate, so the high cost of bottled water did not represent a viable solution to the problem. It was concluded that water filters were a more sustainable option to meet the need for clean water in the affected cities and towns. It was at this point that the American Red Cross’ Long-Term Recovery program stepped in.
If resources permit, Red Cross long-term recovery operations may be implemented as part of a disaster operation, which may include community-based preparedness and assistance services. These services are offered through programs designed and tailored to the specific nature of the disaster. Long-term recovery operations may extend up to two years after the conclusion of response operations.
To respond, the Long-Term Recovery program partnered with the nonprofit tribal consortium Kawerak, Inc., to meet the need for clean water in a sustainable, long-term manner. This was accomplished by installing purification systems in Alaska’s hardest-hit communities, for which the Red Cross provided a $354,000 grant to Kawerak to support installation in multiple villages. Beginning in July 2024, the funded activities will:
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They supplied more than three thousand two hundred people with water filtration systems.
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They offered a more sustainable solution for the supply of drinking water to the inhabitants of the affected localities.
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They prioritized distribution to vulnerable populations (elderly and households with young children), as well as communities without a water supply and sewerage system.
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They reduced the amount of plastic waste that communities have to deal with as a result of consuming bottled water.
The Red Cross recognizes that these communities face unique challenges due to their isolation, lack of infrastructure, and vulnerability to flooding and other disasters caused by extreme weather. “The climate crisis is affecting us,” said Isabelle Jackson, an urban planner in the town of Shaktoolik, Alaska. “Soon we will be reduced to an island.”
The Red Cross has extensive experience in disaster relief. Organizations like Kawerak are also critical to understanding the deep cultural context and needs of communities like Teller and Shaktoolik. Partnerships like these ensure that the Red Cross solution reflects the needs of the community, not just in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, but also in the long term.
Carol Piscoya of Kawerak explained that one obstacle to recovery was the government’s classification of subsistence camps like hers as second homes or vacation homes. The coastal huts, disproportionately affected by the storm surge caused by Merbok, were themselves shacks, most of which lacked indoor plumbing or electricity. This was where the local community slept during the fishing and harvesting season. Salmon was dried in structures outside these camps, and often sustained the community for the rest of the year. Losing it, especially in a place with such a high cost of living, was not like losing a vacation home or a weekend hobby. Instead, it meant the loss of food that would have sustained their families until the following year.
A cultural context like this, which affects the way people make a living, is why partnerships between the Red Cross and tribal organizations like Kawerak are so important.
Similar partnerships are being forged in long-term recovery operations across the country, in locations as diverse as the disasters that affect them.
One of them is the collaboration between the Red Cross and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) in Maui, following the fires.
The Red Cross serves communities that benefit from these partnerships, especially in cases of collaboration between organizations and indigenous populations. For communities that have historically been ignored and neglected, these relationships are essential to accelerate the recovery process and strengthen communities.
