Without debate, the climate crisis is having a severe effect on the planet. It has already completely decimated some places, and it seems to be seriously threatening others. Whether by plastic Pollution, Global warming, 1000-year flooding, or raging wildfires, there is a notable rise in the destruction of human-made places.
What is becoming more common on the planet is naturally occurring ghost towns. Ghost towns used to be something caused by people deserting places for people reasons. More and more, they are the result of people deserting places because nature or Pollution has laid waste to them.
With that in mind, it’s time to visit a few modern-day ghost towns in the US created by the current climatic conditions, as well as have a look at major towns across the world that are gone or dangerously close to being ghosted.
Source: VICE News/YouTube
These are towns— all US locations— that have already ceased to be due to major climate catastrophes in the last couple of decades. They are an example that this crisis is a worldwide problem, no matter how “developed” a country may be.
1. Burrwood, Louisiana
Once located on the Mississippi’s Delta, Burrwood, Louisiana, has vanished due to subsidence (the gradual sinking or caving in of land), erosion, and wetland destruction. The city survived serious Hurricanes in 1917, 1965 (Betsy), and 2005 (Katrina).
The town was established by the Army Corps of Engineers and acted as a pass for ships from the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans. It was even used as a Naval Base in WWII and a hurricane Warning Office after that.
Now, all that is left standing of Burrwood is a ship pilot station that emerges from the marsh. Most of the town is underwater. It is no longer inhabited by people.
2. Valmeyer, Illinois
Another Mississippi River casualty, the original town of Valmeyer, Illinois, was in the American Bottom, aka the floodplain of the Mississippi River. It was, however, drowned in the Great Flood of 1993.
Rather than throwing in the towel, the entire town decided to relocate a couple of miles away and a few hundred feet higher in elevation.
The original town is now regarded as a ghost town with very few inhabitants, and the new incarnation of Valmeyer is viewed as a model for what towns might do in response to sea level rise.
3. Shasta, California
Shasta City in Northern California was a mining town that had been around since the 19th century, operating much like a gold rush museum since 1937. In 2018, the Carr Fire destroyed Shasta State Historic Park. All that remains is brick facades and iron window shutters along the 150-year-old Main Street.
Similarly, the mining town of Helena, CA, was destroyed by a wildfire a year earlier. It was one of the oldest remaining mining settlements in the state.
4. Holland Island, Maryland
Now to the east coast, Holland Island, Maryland, was an island in the Chesapeake Bay. It was home to sea-faring folk and farmers, but the place is now abandoned due to erosion and rising seas.
At its height, the small island had around 70 homes, as well as a post office, school, church, and baseball team.
Islanders began leaving in the 1920s, but Stephen White, a retired minister, spent years trying to save the island. In 2010, it met its final demise.
5. Cumberland Island, Georgia
Cumberland Island itself is considered a national seashore. It is the largest barrier island in the state of Georgia. It has salt marshes, majestic live oaks strewn with Spanish moss, and renowned beaches.
Indigenous people lived on the island as far back as 4000 years ago. It was also the site of JFK Jr’s wedding, and family home of Thomas Carnegie, brother to Andrew Carnegie. The island is all but washed away at this point.
Source: 60 Minutes/YouTube
Elsewhere in the World: More Modern Ghost Towns
6. Vunidogoloa, Fiji, has been forced by the government to move further inland due to Climate change. It is one of six Fijian villages to share this fate.
7. Cotul Morij, Moldova, flooded in 2010, and most residents lucky enough to be evacuated never returned to the 200-year-old village. Excessive rains caused a flood-control dam in a neighboring community to burst.
8. Lytton, Canada, was destroyed by a wildfire in 2021. It was a First Nations village. Most buildings in the town were decimated in about half an hour.
9. Venice, Italy, is hardly a ghost town yet, but Italy is on full-time watch for it. A combination of rising tides and sinking land is causing serious problems for this global treasure.
10. Chacaltaya Ski Resort, Bolivia, closed its doors in 2009 when an 18,000-year-old glacier completely melted away, taking most of the snow with it. The café bar, ski lift, and so on remain as a ghost town.
The List Grows Daily
We, of course, are seeing dozens of places in peril each year. We are watching Miami flood frequently. New York is getting socked by hurricanes. Boston’s sea walls are barely holding the tides back. The world, it seems, is becoming a scary place…a potential ghost town on the horizon everywhere.
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