An 'unsuitable' climate threatens Mi'kmaw community

At first, Rebecca Labillois thought it was just another routine storm roaring across the Bay of Chaleur.

"But then the power went out," she says."The water just kept on flooding in, and it flooded all the way up here and up to my house."

It was Dec. 6, 2010, and massive waves of water were engulfing the homes along Beach Road and Olympic Drive at Ugpi'ganjig First Nation, also known as Eel River Bar, in northern New Brunswick. 

"We had no choice but to leave," Labillois said.

Carol Simonson lives in one of the homes along Beach Road, facing the water. 

"My family's property was right here," she said. "We had my uncle's house, my grandparents' house in back. It just completely flooded. My uncle's house was not salvageable. They had to tear it down."

The storm temporarily displaced dozens of families in this small Mi'kmaw community. Sewers backed up. People lost cherished possessions.

It was an early indicator of the threat posed to coastal communities by climate change.

According to the Gespe'gewaq Mi'gmaq Resource Council, the sea level is forecast to rise by one metre by 2100, a dire risk for a community where many homes and community facilities are only 3.3 to 5.6 metres above sea level.

The annual mean air temperature is expected to rise by almost five degrees Celsius by 2100.

Precipitation is projected to increase by eight per cent by 2050 and by 17 per cent by 2100.

"It's a pretty big thing to think about," said John Vicaire, the council's executive director. 

"We can't stop it, but we can try and prepare to mitigate some of those impacts."

One attempt at mitigation is a concrete seawall running for more than half a kilometre where the beach used to be. Built by the federal government at a cost of $10 million, it's designed to blunt the impact of the next storm.