Flood. Retreat. Repeat.
As seas rise and storms become more intense, some 40 million Americans living in floodplains are facing greater risk of disaster. Local, state, and federal officials are increasingly looking at managed retreat, or buyouts, as a way to get people out of harm’s way. In this series, Grist profiles three communities at various stages of the buyout process, examining what happens when you ask – or sometimes force – people to leave their homes. What gets lost and who gets left behind?
In This Series
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![an older woman with glasses looks through a curtain]()
![an older woman with glasses looks through a curtain]()
Left Behind
What life is like for the last residents of Staten Island's Oakwood Beach.
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America’s oldest Black town is trapped between rebuilding and retreating
The decline of Princeville, North Carolina, is a testament to just how much history is at risk in an era of accelerating climate change.
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![A rusty mailbox with the faded word]()
![A rusty mailbox with the faded word]()
Torn Apart
In Houston, a generations-deep community is being dismantled by mandatory buyouts.
