Climate change: Panama community fled from a drowned island

At Gardi Sugdub, waves whip up during the rainy season, washed away by the house, wrapping under the hammock where the family sleeps.

“Based on current and projected sea level rise rates, the chances of the island becoming habitable by 2050 are very low,” Patong said.

However, the initial debate on relocation began more than a decade ago, not because of climate change but because of population growth.

The island is only 400m long and 150m wide. Some residents view overcrowding as a more pressing issue. But others, like Magdalena Martinez, fear the rising sea:

“Every year we saw the tides higher,” she says. “We couldn’t cook on the stove and it was always flooded… so we said, ‘We have to get out of here.’ ”

Magdalena was one of those who registered in motorboats and wooden canoes last June, tied up for her new home.

“I brought clothes and kitchen utensils,” she says. “It feels like you’re leaving a part of your life on the island.”