Ocean Refugee Alert: The Torres Strait Islands are Drowning

Australia’s remote low-lying islands of the Torres Strait -- a place most of the Earth’s population has never heard of -- are doomed to disappear from rising seas, and residents may be forced to flee soon.

That puts the 7,000 islanders at risk of becoming some of the world’s first climate refugees.

So how has Australia’s Department of Climate Change responded?

The Independent:

There is no action plan for the region, and the newly formed Department of Climate Change was unable to cite any studies relating to these northerly islands. A search for the words "Torres Strait" on the department's website yields no results.

At least the fourth estate has been all over the story. The Independent is the latest to give its striking impressions of a sinking Torres Strait.

In sum: The seasons have shifted. Beaches have eroded. Birds’ migration patterns have altered. Turtles and dugongs that are hunted for meat have grown scarce.

And the rising tides are behaving brutally:

Ron and Maria Passi, who operate Murray Island's only taxi, were out driving the night the king tide struck. Neighbours flagged them down, asking for help, and so it was not until some time later that they saw their own grandchildren standing in the road. "They were shouting 'Granddad, stop the car, the water is coming in the house'," says Ron. "I just slammed on the brakes."

The islands, it seems, have reached their tipping point. And many islanders have relocated to higher ground to buy time.

If that’s been an option:

On islands such as Saibai, there is no high land to move to. The islanders are squeezed on to a narrow strip of ground, between the encroaching ocean and the encroaching swamp. They have raised their houses, and sandbagged their families' burial plots. The sea wall gets washed away during floods.

Well, Australia better get moving because thousands of islanders without islands could arrive on its shores in the coming decades.

And if it can fire the starting gun on this issue -- and soon -- Australia could help deliver a climate refugee policy for the whole planet, as the world faces one billion climate refugees by 2050.

Related Story:

World's First Climate Refugees to Leave Island Home

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