Climate’s Triple Threat: Rising Seas, Stronger Hurricanes, Heavier Rain

Descendants of enslaved Africans, known as the Gullah Geechee, have occupied the coastline from Jacksonville, North Carolina, to Jacksonville, Florida, for 400 years. They are now some of the most climate-threatened people in the world, so much so that a managed retreat, the planned relocation of vulnerable people, is frequently mentioned as an option.

Miles inland along the coast, historically Black towns like Princeville, Piney Grove, and Rocky Mount are chronically underwater from floods brought on by increased rainfall and 100-year hurricanes that happen almost every other year. The fact that these towns are so flood prone is race-linked. Black people have been forced to live in the lowest-lying areas.