Twelve miles from either coast of the Chesapeake Bay sits a small island in danger of disappearing.
Tangier Island, Virginia, is one of the most isolated and extraordinary places in the continental US. But the island sits just 4 feet or so above sea level, and a 2015 report suggests that little of it will be left in 50 years.
President Donald Trump, however, disagrees. The Daily Times of Salisbury, Maryland, reports that after Trump saw a CNN report about Tangier Island last summer, the president called Mayor James "Ooker" Eskridge to tell him he shouldn’t worry about a rise in sea levels.
"He said, 'Your island has been there for hundreds of years, and I believe your island will be there for hundreds more,'" Eskridge told The Daily Times.
"Chesapeake Requiem," a forthcoming book by Earl Swift, paints a timely portrait of the 200-year-old crabbing community as it faces extinction from rising water levels. Swift spent the past two years with residents on the island, which he says could become America's "first climate casualty."
The photos below show how serious the problem has become there.
Christian Storm contributed to this story.
Tangier Island has been losing ground to erosion for hundreds of years.
But the combination of rising sea levels and more severe weather — both augmented by climate change — have increased the rate of land loss.
Records indicate that in the mid-1800s, Tangier Island encompassed about 2,060 acres. It was home to watermelon farms, grazing cows, and a variety of plant life.
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