Leaving home because of climate & disasters

Weather-related hazards force about 21.5 million people from their homes each year on average, UNHCR reports.

Many people expect to go home soon. For some, a short evacuation turns into a permanent move.

UNHCR notes that thousands of people also leave because of slow changes, like droughts or coastal erosion linked to sea level rise.

Slow loss can be hard to name. There may be no single day when it happened, just a growing sense that staying is no longer possible.

UNHCR says “climate refugee” is misleading, because in international law a refugee is someone fleeing war or persecution across a border. Most people affected by climate change move within their own country first.

UNHCR prefers the phrase “people displaced in the context of climate change”. Whatever words are used, the loss is real.

Many people leave quickly with very little, then learn they can’t return. Not having had the chance to say goodbye can make grief feel stuck.

After Hurricane Katrina, parents who lived for long periods in temporary housing and moved many times reported more stress than those who returned home.

Being unsettled makes it hard to rest, plan or build routines. Finding stable housing is one of the most important steps for wellbeing.

Some people decide to move after living through several floods, fires or storms. The decision can bring relief and also guilt or sadness, especially if family or neighbours stay.

Cost, age, health, work or deep ties to land can mean staying. People who stay may watch friends leave and their community shrink, which brings its own grief.

After Hurricane Katrina, low-income parents who relocated to a new community had more distress and stress than those who returned to their old one.

After Hurricane Maria, people who moved to Florida had higher rates of post-traumatic stress than those who stayed in Puerto Rico. The researchers suggest adjusting to a new place may have added to the strain.

Researchers describe social ties as a key buffer against stress. When climate-related moves break those ties, mental health can suffer.

Social support is one of the strongest keys to recovery, but disasters can scatter the very people we lean on.

Temporary housing, insurance claims and not knowing what comes next can keep stress high for a long time. Changes in living conditions can also shift roles in a family and strain relationships.

Solastalgia is a word coined by Australian researchers for the distress people feel when their home environment changes in ways they can’t control. It was first studied in communities facing long drought.

For farmers, fishers and Indigenous communities, land can be tied to work, culture and a deep sense of who people are. Leaving can mean losing knowledge and practices passed down through generations.

• Bring soil, a stone or a plant cutting from home
• Keep cooking the foods of your region
• Make a photo book or map of your old neighbourhood
• Stay in a group chat with old neighbours
• Visit, if it’s safe, on meaningful dates

The AAP says rebuilding physical strength is a good first step to calm shattered emotions: eating and drinking enough, and finding restful sleep in as private a space as possible.

Going back to the same place each week helps a strange town feel familiar. Faces start to recognise you, and you start to recognise them.

• A community garden
• A faith group or choir
• A parents’ group at school
• A sports team or walking group
• Volunteering, including helping other displaced families

• Clinginess
• Frequent stomach aches
• Going back to younger behaviours
• Irritability
• Nightmares or not wanting to sleep alone

• Guilt or shame
• Losing interest in activities
• Ongoing worries about safety
• Problems at school
• Withdrawing from others

• Fear of seeming different
• Feeling the world is unsafe
• Pulling away from friends
• Trouble concentrating

A new school can be extra hard for teens who lost their friends and teams. Helping them stay in touch with old friends while joining something new can ease the change.

• Keep familiar routines and rituals
• Let them help choose things for the new room
• Share news about relatives, friends and pets back home
• Talk about missing home when everyone is ready

If a child’s stress isn’t improving after a few weeks, or they withdraw completely, have serious school problems or talk about hurting themselves, seek professional help.

Isle de Jean Charles is the historic home of a Native American community in coastal Louisiana. Land loss has shrunk the island from more than 22,000 acres to about 320.

A new community, The New Isle, was built about 40 miles north on higher ground. Residents helped choose the site, co-designed parts of it, and named it themselves. Moving was voluntary.

The design includes space for powwows, festivals and cultural events, and homes that echo island life. As of fall 2024, 37 households had moved in.

Research on solastalgia found that feeling powerless to stop change made people’s sense of loss worse.

Being involved in decisions, like where to go and how the new place looks, can help people keep a sense of control and identity.

Questions communities often ask

• How will we keep our culture and traditions alive?
• How will we stay together as neighbours?
• What will happen to our old land and graves?
• Who will make decisions, and how will we be heard?

Some people feel relieved to be safe, others feel they are abandoning ancestors or history. Both can exist in the same family, and both deserve respect.

Call or text 1-800-985-5990, free and open 24/7. Press 2 for Spanish. Deaf and hard of hearing callers can use their preferred relay service.

You can reach out months or years after a disaster, not only right after.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. Calls with interpreters are offered in more than 240 languages.

Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741.

If a life is in danger, call 911.

findahelpline.com lists free, confidential helplines in many countries, by phone, text or chat.