Milton grew quickly into a Category 5 storm Monday morning and is forecast to make landfall in Florida midweek.

The Merbok storm of 2022 impacted the Old Russian Cemetery in Saint Michael. This cemetery was created in the 1830s when the northernmost outpost of the Russian American Company was established in that village. People were interred in that cemetery for about 100 years. The cemetery is on a 30 foot high bluff overlooking the bay.

Graves at the historic St. Michael cemetery in Alaska are eroding due to increased storms and erosion, prompting an archaeologist to recover exposed remains and coordinate efforts to re-bury them. Tom Wolforth’s prime mission was to appropriately handle the remains and make sure they could be reburied. He has been working closely with the tribe and the municipality to address their concerns. One concern, Martin said, was that these exposed remains could pose a risk of disease, especially if the dead had been buried during the time of the 1918 flu pandemic. But Wolforth assured them that if properly handled this shouldn’t be a problem.

Permafrost thaw in Noatak is causing the condition of the grave site to degrade. A trench has formed and crosses are tipping over.

The erosion of the Old Russian Cemetery from the impacts of the storm Merbokis also an unfinished process. The earth is actively moving, falling onto the beach bit by bit and sometimes in large chunks every day, to reach a state of stabilization after the storm.

A fisherman was coming home from fishing last night and noticed (what he thought was) a coffin sticking out of the old gravesite above one of the markers I used to measure erosion with last summer. It turned out to not be a coffin, but rather an old air duct or metal meat trailer.

The cemetery in Eggedal has suffered major damage after floods and landslides. "Thank God that coffins and remains have not appeared," says the church guardian.

Permafrosten på Svalbard kunne gitt dem evig liv. Men nå er historien til hundrevis av hvalfangere i ferd med å tine bort.

A few years ago, people had to cover up parts of the burial site that were becoming exposed.

Erosion of Russian era graves is a concern because of history with epidemic, and tribal office has to collect and rebury remains.

Noatak site experiencing thawing and subsidence.

This year was one of the warmest and wettest in recorded history, and permafrost thaw is causing the ground at the mass gravesite to sink.

This year was one of the warmest and wettest in recorded history and permafrost thaw is causing the ground at the community cemetary to thaw and erode. The community is seeking guidance on best practices for relocation of remains.

The varnished wooden cross stands amid a cluster of grave markers tilted at odd angles in the cemetery, because the ground beneath them is sinking. Rising temperatures are thawing the once-frozen earth, forming pools of water that run through the graveyard.

Climate change is causing trouble on Herschel Island.

In villages like Kongiganak, communities have stopped burying their dead because, as the permafrost melts, the oldest part of their cemetery is sinking.

Teller, Alaska is identified by the US Army Corps of Engineers as one of 31 villages in imminent danger of the effects of climate change.