The Micronesian exodus is taking tens of thousands of people to communities throughout the U.S. By some estimates, 30 percent of those in the Pacific region have left their home countries, with about half of the immigrants now living on the mainland.

The U.S. has been funneling billions of dollars to Micronesian nations since 1986. That money is very likely going to dry up in just eight years. Then what?

Pohnpei and Kosrae are two places where the residents live simple rural lifestyles, with fishing and farming as a way of life. But many people also struggle with alcohol and drug abuse and U.S. dollars do little to help pay for services.

Rising tides and changing ecosystems are destroying the subsistence lifestyle on many islands in Micronesia. If disease and a sinking economy don’t drive residents away, global warming just might.

Nuclear testing took a heavy toll on the Marshall Islands in the 1940s and ’50s, and health effects remain. Today, the low-lying atolls are threatened by climate change.

Diabetes and cancer are rampant throughout Micronesia, largely thanks to the legacy of nuclear tests and Western culture. But most islands lack adequate medical facilities, making migration a necessity.

This “nuclear nomad” just wants to go home. Except home is a contaminated atoll 2,000 miles away.

From Majuro to Honolulu, Micronesians as seen through the lenses of Civil Beat photographers.

Most Americans have never even heard of the Compact of Free Association, but that may change as federal aid runs out, raising urgent questions about our moral, financial and legal responsibility to Micronesians.

The poorest of the nations in the Federated States of Micronesia, Chuuk is also one of the largest sources of out-migration.