Story highlights Since 1955, Isle de Jean Charles has lost 98% of its land mass

The federal government gave Louisiana $48 million to relocate the community

Wenceslaus and Denicia Billiot have lived there all their lives and don't want to leave

(CNN) Seventy years ago, on the day Wenceslaus and Denicia Billiot got married, their wedding party danced along a road that ran from one end of Isle de Jean Charles to the other.

Today, that road is nearly gone. Isle de Jean Charles, located 80 miles from New Orleans, has been sinking slowly. Since 1955, it has lost 98% of its land mass to rising sea levels, devastating hurricanes, and the construction of oil and gas canals along the marsh.

The latest research shows that, if the current rate of global warming continues, sea levels have the potential to rise more than three feet by the end of this century.

The Island Road in Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana

That would certainly mean the end of Isle de Jean Charles. Today, only half a square mile of land remains above water.

Recognizing the danger, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $48 million to the state of Louisiana in 2016 to relocate the community to higher ground, off the island -- making the residents of Isle de Jean Charles the country's first-ever climate refugees.

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