Isle de Jean Charles

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Isle de Jean Charles
Waters Gulf of Mexico
Geographical location 29 ° 23 '16 "  N , 90 ° 28' 59"  W Coordinates: 29 ° 23 '16 "  N , 90 ° 28' 59"  W.
Isle de Jean Charles (Louisiana)
Isle de Jean Charles
length 2.8 km
width 300 m
Highest elevation 1  m
Residents 99 (October 26, 2016)

House on Isle de Jean Charles after Hurricane Gustav , 2008

Isle de Jean Charles , French Isle à Jean Charles is an island in Terrebonne Parish in the US state of Louisiana .

geography

Isle de Jean Charles is located on the foothills of Terrebonne Bay , which extends into the Gulf of Mexico . Houma is 30 kilometers away in the northwest and New Orleans 75 kilometers away in the northeast.

On October 26, 2016, 99 residents were counted who lived in 26 inhabited residential buildings with 37 residential units. There were also several abandoned houses.

history

At the beginning of the 19th century , Indians settled on the island. These were members of the Biloxi , Chitimacha and Choctaw . French settlers soon followed, intermingling with the Indians through marriage. The island was named after the father of a settler - Jean Charles Naquin. At times up to 400 residents lived there. As the nearby oil industry ran through the area with canals and salt water got into the bay, trees and plants died, whose roots had previously contributed to the stabilization of the coasts. By storm surges and hurricanes , such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hurricane Gustav in 2008 or the Tropical Cyclone Lee 2011 parts were eroded away the land area. Since 1955, the island has lost around 98 percent of its original area and in spring 2016 only 85 people were still living there. As a result of climate change and global warming, the Gulf of Mexico is also expanding, the sea water is rising and is flooding parts of archipelagos and wetlands in Louisiana. Since it is expected that further sections of Isle de Jean Charles will be flooded, the state of Louisiana has announced financial resources of around 50 million dollars to relocate the remaining families and former islanders. In 2002 and 2008, the majority of the residents spoke out against forced resettlement. Also because of climate change, but because of the melting of parts of the Arctic Ocean and the thawing of large areas of permafrost , residents in the far north of the USA, in Shishmaref , Alaska, are also threatened with resettlement. Here, however, the majority of the residents voted for such a procedure. In contrast to Louisiana, however, no government funds have been approved for resettlement in Alaska. The Louisiana government has announced that the resettlement of Isle de Jean Charles will begin in 2022.

Trivia

The documentary Can't Stop The Water was shot in 2013 about life on Isle de Jean Charles .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Resettlement of Isle de Jean Charles, Report on Data Gathering and Engagement Phase, November 2016 (PDF)
  2. ↑ The sinking of an island
  3. ^ History
  4. ↑ Population
  5. ↑ Can't Stop The Water

Web links