The barrier island off the coast of New York is more than a vacation community. It is what stands between rising seas and one of the most densely populated coastal regions in the country.
In the 42 years Rosemary Deadman has lived on the shore of Surfside Beach, she has watched the sea devour about 12 metres of beach, bringing the water ever closer to her back door.
The impacts of rising sea levels can be clearly seen in Ocean City, New Jersey, a family resort town spending tens of millions of dollars to deal with flooding.
