"The level of alarm is already high in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, as the Pacific island nation struggles with rising sea levels and the after-effects of decades of U.S. nuclear testing on its atolls.
This week, the picture grew even bleaker as climate change, disease and political unease collided and officials put out an international plea for help.
It is too early to tell how this week will be remembered in the annals of Marshall Islands history, but it is likely not to be forgotten.
As votes were being counted in a historic election that will affect the nation’s relationships with the United States and China, its capital city was flooded, its two hospitals were packed with patients suffering from dengue fever or flu, and its president was pleading with the international community to act decisively on climate change."
Susanne Rust reports for the Los Angeles Times December 5, 2019.
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