Frustration, defiance in village to be abandoned to the sea

By SYLVIA HUI
Associated Press

FAIRBOURNE, Wales (AP) — Residents of a small coastal village in north Wales face becoming the U.K.’s first “climate refugees.” Authorities have identified Fairbourne to be at high risk of flooding due to climate change. Predicting faster sea level rises and more extreme storms due to global warming, the British government says it can afford to keep defending the village for only another 33 years. Officials say that by 2054,  it will no longer be safe or sustainable to live there, and residents will need to move away and leave Fairbourne to the ocean. Experts say coastal flooding could affect 1.5 million properties across the U.K. by the end of the 2080s.