Like so many other residents of Fairbourne, Stuart Eves decided to settle in this small coastal town in north Wales for the rest of his days
28 years ago.
He loved the tranquility of the small town, with
700 inhabitants
, nestled between the mountains and the Irish Sea.
"I wanted a place where my children could grow up like I did, where they could run free," said Eves, 74, who opened a mobile home park that his son now runs. "You have the sea, the mountains.
' It is a spectacular place to live
.'
That all suddenly changed in 2014, when authorities said Fairbourne was the first coastal community in the UK to be at serious risk of serious flooding as a result of
climate change.
Stuart Eves and his dog Lucy at the caravan park Eves opened in Fairbourne, Wales (AP).
The government predicted that the water level will rise more quickly and that there will be more frequent and intense storms due to global warming, and that it could only defend that community from the inclement weather for
40 years
.
Officials said that by 2054, it would no longer be safe or sustainable to live in Fairbourne.
That's why they've been working with the residents on a "scheduled relocation." In other words, taking them somewhere else
until there are none left.
Nobody wants to leave
Overnight, house prices collapsed and residents began to be described as the UK's first "climate refugees." Many couldn't believe it when they heard the town would be "decommissioned
.
"
Seven years later, most of his questions remain unanswered.
"They condemned the town and now they have to try to relocate people. There are 450 homes," said Eves, who chairs the town's municipal council. "If they want us to leave by 2054, they must have somewhere to accommodate us."
Nobody wants to leave.
While there are many retirees, there are also young families raising the next generation.
Locals take pride in their close-knit community.
And although the "downtown" consists of just
a grocery store, a fast food joint and a couple of restaurants
, residents say the pebble beach and a small steam train draw a lot of people during the summer.
Natural Resources Wales, the government-backed organization responsible for Fairbourne's marine defence, said the town is particularly vulnerable because it floods so easily.
It was built in the mid-1800s
on a low-lying brackish marsh.
When the tide rises, it is below sea level.
When there are storms, the water level is 1.5 meters higher than that of the town.
Alan Peter Jones, owner of Fairbourne Chippy, at his business in Fairbourne, Wales (AP).
Scientists say the water level has risen about 10 centimeters in the last century.
By 2100, it will have grown between 70 centimeters and one meter, depending on greenhouse gas emissions and the measures that governments can take.
Fairbourne, on the other hand, is located
at the entrance to an estuary
, which carries additional flooding risks.
Authorities have invested millions of pounds to reinforce a sea wall and around three kilometers of barriers.
There are many towns along the Welsh coast and the decision about which to protect and which not to protect is a matter of
financial considerations
.
Officials say that in the case of Fairbourne, the cost of the defenses will be higher "than the value of what they are protecting."
The effects of climate change that were discussed at the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow are already a reality here.
won't be the only one
Catrin Wager of Gwynedd Council, a regional body that oversees Fairbourne, highlighted that this may be the first coastal town declared unviable, but it
will not be the only one.
He maintained that
there are no policies to help locals.
"We need more responses from the Welsh and British governments. That was my message" for the UN summit, Wager said. "We need guidance, not only on mitigating the effects of climate change, but also on how to adapt to what it's already happening''.
Half a million properties are at risk of coastal flooding in the UK.
And by the end of 2080
there will be 1.5 million,
according to the Climate Change Committee, an independent advisory body.
"Whatever happens at the summit, the water level will continue to rise and we have to be prepared," said Richard Dawson, an engineering professor at Newcastle University and a member of the committee. "We have to be realistic.
We can't protect the entire coast.
"The challenge that the government has is that it is not addressing the problem with the urgency or transparency that is needed."
Becky Offland and her son Toby photographed at the Glan y Mor Hotel that she is renovating with her husband in Fairbourne, Wales (AP).
In Fairbourne, the friction between residents and authorities reflects how complicated everything is.
Residents feel an injustice has been done to them and believe it is unclear how quickly sea levels will rise to endanger their homes.
When and how will the evacuation be done?
Will they be compensated?
If so,
how much will they receive?
There is no answer to all these questions for now.
The town's priest, Ruth Hansford, said many residents suffer from "emotional fatigue" from years of uncertainty and negativity. Others simply decide to carry on with their lives, as if nothing had happened.
Becky Offland and her husband recently rented the Glan y Mor Hotel.
They are convinced that the town
has a lot of life ahead of it.
"It's like a big family.
It's not a village. It's a family
," said Offland, 36. "We will fight to keep it where it is."
Down the road, Fairbourne Chippy owner Alan Jones, 66, says he's not planning on leaving either.
"Until the water arrives, until we physically cannot work, we will continue," he said.
Eves said he and his son believe that "whatever has to happen will happen." But he will mourn the inevitable disintegration of the town he loves so much.
"You can't move this town to another place and expect it to continue functioning the same," he said. "What's happening here is
a human catastrophe
, albeit on a small scale."
AP Agency.
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