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The Terrebonne Basin, a low-lying delta on Louisiana’s coast, is one of the fastest eroding areas in the U.S.

This was far from the first school closure in coastal Terrebonne Parish, which had seen broad population loss over the previous two decades.

The Terrebonne Parish School Board convened the next month to take a final vote on the closure.

In the meantime, Alton and his family would have to find somewhere else to stay, as would thousands of other people from Pointe-aux-Chenes and elsewhere in Terrebonne Parish.

Last month, on the first day of Louisiana’s inshore shrimp season, a tank platform collapsed, pouring 14,000 gallons into Terrebonne Bay and ruining the catch.