Inch by Inch, Home by Home, Saint Louis is being Washed into the Sea

A crowded island city built among waterways, Senegal’s former colonial capital—dubbed the “Venice of Africa”—is especially exposed to a changing climate and rising oceans. The thin peninsula on which fishermen like Mr Badiane live has the Atlantic on its west and the mouth of the Senegal river on its east. A botched attempt, in 2003, to reduce flooding by digging a canal only worsened things, putting a whole neighbourhood under water. A study commissioned by the Senegalese government found that 80% of the city will be at risk of flooding by 2080. “Saint Louis is a city of water,” says Mr Badiane. “If we’re not careful, it will all disappear.”

THE ECONOMIST