Experts issue urgent warning as island chain is on brink of disappearing: 'It's just a question of time'
A chain of islands off the coast of West Africa is on the brink of disappearing amid rising sea levels.
What's happening?
Nyangai Island is one of seven inhabited islands that comprise the Turtle Islands in Sierra Leone. The island was once home to over a thousand residents and three villages, but in the last decade, much of Nyangai's surface area has disappeared under the rising ocean.
Caledonian Record reports that two-thirds of the island has vanished and only 300 inhabitants remain.
Those left behind are living in severely cramped conditions and lack basic infrastructure. Homes are regularly lost to floods, and there's very little space left to rebuild. Soon, the island will be uninhabitable, and a local climate expert predicts the other islands will be gone within 10-15 years: "The entire archipelago will go, it's just a question of time."
The remaining inhabitants have little hope that their homes can be saved. A community leader and longtime resident, Amidou Bureh, said: "Our worry is the water, that the water will destroy us."
Why are rising sea levels such a concern?
Compounding the tragic fate of Nyangai is the sense of injustice. The fishing community has had almost no part in creating the conditions that have led to the crisis unfolding before their very eyes. The planet-heating pollution from dirty energy is accelerating the loss of sea ice, causing coastal erosion and leading to the disappearance of entire island communities worldwide.
Worse still, rising ocean temperatures create ideal conditions for increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events. It's no longer a matter of whether people will be displaced; it's already happening, but of how many. Even in the best-case scenario, people will be forcibly displaced at a level not seen since World War II.
What's being done to protect vulnerable communities?
Unfortunately for the residents of the islands, their plight is largely falling on deaf ears. A USAID program attempted to slow down the erosion by planting mangroves, but this had little effect, according to Mongabay. Now, with foreign assistance all but gone, even those token efforts will cease.
With a GDP per capita of just $915, Sierra Leone has limited capacity to handle the population displacement. A global crisis requires a unified response, and that's possible through awareness, collective, and individual actions. Accelerating the adoption of clean energy will at the very least slow down the rise and buy valuable time for the world's most vulnerable communities.
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Here are edited excerpts of our conversation: Kerry Hannon: What was the experience of aiding in a disaster that made this work become your mission? Earl Johnson: 9/11 changed everybody's lives. I moved from lower Manhattan to Arlington, Va., on Sept. 9, 2001. I was in the backyard, and I heard the plane hit the Pentagon. I had training as a hospital chaplain and it kicked in. All of my skills and everything were transferable to a disaster. Hurricane Katrina was my other seminal event. I was with the Red Cross, and we were tasked to open a thousand shelters for a thousand people each in the next 24 hours. It wasn't just a Red Cross response. It wasn't just a federal response. It was everybody, all hands on deck. And we were a team. With the Texas Hill country flooding disaster on our minds, what's the best action for someone to take if you want to give, but you can't be there in person? The temptation for many people is to drop everything and go help the victims. 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You write in your book about being on the alert for entrepreneurs and predators and other people coming into a community under the guise of offering help. How do we guard ourselves from being taken advantage of? It's the second wave of the disaster. Good, kindhearted people respond, but also entrepreneurs and predators who want to take advantage of the vulnerable. Do a background check. Check with a local Better Business Bureau, the police department, the Red Cross, local media, and others in your community to find out if they have heard of this group, or were aware that this group has descended upon the community and are going door-to- door offering roof repairs or whatever. A lot of people get victimized because they're already vulnerable, because the emotional and spiritual aspects of disasters are so traumatic. If you are in the disaster zone, you already are vulnerable and you want help and you want assistance. Don't sign anything until they have been checked out. What's the first thing to ask yourself before you head off to a disaster zone to lend a hand? You can't imagine how many people drop everything, get in their car with a couple bags of ice and a couple dozen sandwiches, and drive a thousand miles to help. When I am screening potential volunteers, I would always ask them why they want to respond, so stop and first ask yourself that question. Who's going to take care of your family and pets if you are gone? Do you have two to three weeks that you can donate? You also need to be willing to be managed. You can't be the big hotshot coming down to do your part. You need to take about small disasters? Unemployment can be a disaster for people. Elaborate. There are thousands of everyday disasters. There are house fires, divorce, homelessness, mental health issues, and yes, unemployment. Nothing is more violent and traumatic than unemployment. One day your identity as your job or your vocation that you've contributed so much to is gone. 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For more information on how you can help, check out the Red Cross and FEMA sites. Kerry Hannon is a Senior Columnist at Yahoo Finance. She is a career and retirement strategist and the author of 14 books, including the forthcoming "Retirement Bites: A Gen X Guide to Securing Your Financial Future," "In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work," and "Never Too Old to Get Rich." Follow her on Bluesky. Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter
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Experts issue urgent warning as island chain is on brink of disappearing: 'It's just a question of time'
Experts issue urgent warning as island chain is on brink of disappearing: 'It's just a question of time' A chain of islands off the coast of West Africa is on the brink of disappearing amid rising sea levels. What's happening? Nyangai Island is one of seven inhabited islands that comprise the Turtle Islands in Sierra Leone. The island was once home to over a thousand residents and three villages, but in the last decade, much of Nyangai's surface area has disappeared under the rising ocean. Caledonian Record reports that two-thirds of the island has vanished and only 300 inhabitants remain. Those left behind are living in severely cramped conditions and lack basic infrastructure. Homes are regularly lost to floods, and there's very little space left to rebuild. Soon, the island will be uninhabitable, and a local climate expert predicts the other islands will be gone within 10-15 years: "The entire archipelago will go, it's just a question of time." The remaining inhabitants have little hope that their homes can be saved. A community leader and longtime resident, Amidou Bureh, said: "Our worry is the water, that the water will destroy us." Why are rising sea levels such a concern? Compounding the tragic fate of Nyangai is the sense of injustice. The fishing community has had almost no part in creating the conditions that have led to the crisis unfolding before their very eyes. The planet-heating pollution from dirty energy is accelerating the loss of sea ice, causing coastal erosion and leading to the disappearance of entire island communities worldwide. Worse still, rising ocean temperatures create ideal conditions for increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events. It's no longer a matter of whether people will be displaced; it's already happening, but of how many. Even in the best-case scenario, people will be forcibly displaced at a level not seen since World War II. What's being done to protect vulnerable communities? Unfortunately for the residents of the islands, their plight is largely falling on deaf ears. A USAID program attempted to slow down the erosion by planting mangroves, but this had little effect, according to Mongabay. Now, with foreign assistance all but gone, even those token efforts will cease. With a GDP per capita of just $915, Sierra Leone has limited capacity to handle the population displacement. A global crisis requires a unified response, and that's possible through awareness, collective, and individual actions. Accelerating the adoption of clean energy will at the very least slow down the rise and buy valuable time for the world's most vulnerable communities. Do you worry about air pollution in your town? All the time Often Only sometimes Never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Solve the daily Crossword
