Residents of a coastal village in Alaska being threatened by rising sea levels and thawing permafrost voted Tuesday on whether they should relocate to a new area.
Shishmaref, Alaska, is home to 650 people, mostly members of the Inupiat Inuit tribe. The city clerk said the results will be announced Wednesday, and if the vote is in favor of leaving, the town's new location will be decided at a later town meeting. It's estimated it would cost $180 million for the village to move. Shishmaref is built on a barrier island north of the Bering Strait, and once was protected by sea ice, which is now melting and putting the village in danger; sea walls and barricades aren't doing much to keep the waves at bay, The Guardian reports.
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