The coronavirus pandemic hit Native Americans especially hard.
But as the spotlight turned to larger communities like the Navajo Nation,
the much smaller White Mountain Apache Tribe, in eastern Arizona,
quietly battled to save its people.
Photos and text by Alberto Mariani/Cronkite News | May 4, 2021
Justin Tafoya, left, a registered nurse and public information officer, talks with Lafe Altaha before a nurse checks his vitals at his home in Whiteriver, Arizona.
WHITERIVER – Last year, the community of 15,000 in eastern Arizona was considered a hotspot. By Sept. 1, five months after its first recorded COVID case, the tribe had 2,400 cases and had lost 39 people. Over the next six months, there were 1,500 new cases and just 10 additional deaths.
of water. the house was surrounded. it happened to be in one of the lowest line parts of the tornado of the town. thank god we had vehicles with the trash pump and three extinguishers before we were able get lines set up. we were successful. we only lost the roof saved the first two floors. we had some injuries. the biggest thing is the downed powerlines, a lot of snapped telephone poles our beach took a bad hit. the wave and the surf break coming over the dunes at the height of the storm. martha: is there home damage along the beach there? we are a little lucky in that respect. the water went around the houses. we haven t had a chance to do a damage assessment yet, we are in the middle of doing that now. we have a lot of flooding damage. as for foundational damage
lived. garden state parkway according to the office of emergency management . reporter: downed power and downed trees when with the rain continuing fall there still could be issues people are being strongly cautioned to be careful. you can look at the beach behind me it took a beating last night there is debris. some of the debris on the fence there. it is pretty minor, obviously. damage is minor as well. the good news for the casino owners they will reopen monday bill: okay. rick thanks. rick leventhal in new jersey. martha, i believe you have an image that we will not forget. martha: yes. save it.
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know what you are going to get, right? howard beach queens to capture the memorable moment. that is not michael phelps buy the way. look at him swimming down the street? arnold beach. what got into your today. i saw the people supporting howard beach. we had a little flood here today. thinking do the 60 on 60th avenue. next i will go to charles park and play a little basketball in the rain. thanks for coming down and you can edit out the heavy breathing and put in a little less weight on me with a little bit of air brushing i would appreciate that. it was very nice. i had a nice breakfast and didn t cramp up. it was quite brisk but you refreshing. bill: t-shirt says new york s best dad. catch that? martha: and they are very proud of him today. bill: might be the dumbest dad. anyway, he made his point. we have ureporters all over