Persistence was key to compelling package on Alaska village forced to relocate due to climate change

By Rick Bowmer and Mark Thiessen

Alaska is warming two to three times faster than the global average, and that’s a big problem for villages that rest on permafrost. Bowmer and Thiessen covered the story of Newtok, a village being forced to move. 

The pair adapted after Thiessen tested positive for COVID on the eve of travel. Bowmer wound up traveling alone, taking two flights and a boat ride to get there. With no motels, restaurants or grocery stores, Bowmer slept on the floor of the temporary local school, went days without a shower due to a water issue and subsisted on ready-to-eat meals. 

He captured stunning photos and video of melting permafrost and abandoned homes. Thiessen worked from Bowmer’s interviews and several of his own to write moving text story that led off with a young woman’s memories of growing up in her grandmother’s now-demolished home. 

The all-formats package vividly illustrated how climate change can slowly rip through a town. 

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