Rising sea drives Panama islanders to mainland

[Judi Lynn]

Monday July 12, 2010
Rising sea drives Panama islanders to mainland
By Sean Mattson

CARTI SUGDUB, Panama (Reuters) - Rising seas from global warming, coming after years of coral reef destruction, are forcing thousands of indigenous Panamanians to leave their ancestral homes on low-lying Caribbean islands.

Seasonal winds, storms and high tides combine to submerge the tiny islands, crowded with huts of yellow cane and faded palm fronds, leaving them ankle-deep in emerald water for days on end.

Pablo Preciado, leader of the island of Carti Sugdub, remembers that in his childhood floods were rare, brief and barely wetted his toes. "Now it's something else. It's serious," he said.

The increase of a few inches in flood depth is consistent with a global sea level rise over Preciado's 64 years of life and has been made worse by coral mining by the islanders that reduced a buffer against the waves.

More:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/12/worldupdates/2010-07-12T092659Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-500447-1&sec=Worldupdates