This is Scientific American's 60 Second Science, I'm Emily Schwing.

In September, a massive storm on Alaska's West Coast brought a surge of water 17 miles

inland from the barring sea to the chupic village of Cheevak.

The storm was crazy.

What was crazy about it?

It flooded down there.

It was like a sea, but some powers turned out and some people had to sleep at the scope

for three days.

Just over 900 people live in this community.

It sits on a high bank above the NINGLIC FOC river.

Elder John Pangayak says the storm shook his resolve.

For three days, I was in turmoil because I finally realized how dangerous our situation

here in Western Alaska is vulnerable from a very high winds and water surge.

The impact of the storm, called Merbok, is very real for thousands of rural residents

in Western Alaska.

Dozens of villages saw some level of flooding.

People lost power, causing chest freezers to defrost.

The power outages destroyed months of subsistence food that people spent their summers storing

up.

Food security in this part of the state is precarious, and on top of defrosted freezers,

nearly all of the 90 or so boats people used to go fishing and hunting for their main sources

of food in Cheevak were damaged or destroyed.

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