Lack of sediment has led to alarming soil loss, says the director of the Louisiana Coastal Recovery Center
Bren Haase, director of the Louisiana Coastal Recovery Center, explains the situation in the region.
“Our coastline is sinking due to chronic erosion. We are suffering the effects of climate change with stronger and more frequent storms. For example, in 2021, Hurricane Ida swallowed 274 km² of our coastline.”
Bren also emphasizes that manmade changes have also contributed to the current scenario. The Great Flood of 1927 was one of the country's greatest natural disasters. The Mississippi, the largest river in the United States, burst its banks, killing more than 1,000 people and leaving nearly a million homeless.
“To ensure that something like this never happens again, the construction of containment dikes on the Mississippi was approved. However, one of the consequences was that the dikes eventually isolated the river. And in the spring, water that had easily overflowed, carrying sediment that helped support soil along Louisiana's coast, became trapped in the river. The lack of sediment has led to soil loss at an alarming rate since the 1950s,” says Bren.
Additionally, canals opened for oil exploration have brought even more water closer to coastal communities.
“In my parents’ time the island was bigger. There weren't that many channels. We talked about a day when we would have to leave. But I never thought it would ever happen in my generation,” said Chris Brunet, who had to leave the house where he was born in 2022.
1 in 2 Lack of sediment has led to alarming soil loss, says Louisiana Coastal Recovery Center in the US Photo: Reproduction/TV Globo Lack of sediment has led to alarming loss of soil, says Center for Recovery of the Louisiana Coast, in the US Photo: Reproduction /TV Globo
Resettlement of residents
John Bourg has lived on the waterways of Louisiana for 56 years. As a fisherman, he saw the changes.
“Yes, there was a road here. This bay was not open. It was all dirt, even on the left side. Solid ground,” explains John.
98% of Jean Charles Island's terrain is now underwater. Only 2% of the original territory remained. In 2022, Chris Brunet had to leave the house where he was born. “The house was built in 1961 just 30cm above the ground. “In 2003 we had to raise the house to its current height,” he says.
Kelvin Hill is Director of the State of Louisiana Housing Program and his team is working directly on the relocation plan for residents of Jean Charles Island. The budget was $48 million, the American government's first project for climate refugees.
“We had to gain the trust of the community. They were afraid of losing their history, their heritage and the things that had traditionally been important to them,” says Kevin.
2 of 2 Lack of sediment has led to an alarming loss of soil, says the director Photo: Reproduction/TV Globo Lack of sediment has led to an alarming loss of soil, says the director Photo: Reproduction/TV Globo
The full report can be found below:
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