Cartí Sugdup, one of the reef-based islands of Panama’s Guna Yala archipelago, sits only a few centimetres above the Caribbean. For generations the Guna people have lived on this shallow coral platform, relying on the surrounding marine ecosystem for food, shelter and cultural continuity. Today rising sea levels, stronger storm surges and chronic coastal flooding are overtaking the island’s margins. Photographed from a small aircraft, the image reveals how the settlement occupies every available metre of the reef. With the shoreline eroding and flooding now frequent, the community has begun relocating to the mainland—an early example of how ocean change is reshaping coastal life across the tropics.