US East Coast Cities Including New York Sinking, Study Warns About Infrastructure Failure; Threat To Lives

Is New York City really sinking? United States coastal regions including Long Island, Baltimore, Norfolk and Virginia Beach face the fear of being underwater as more than a million buildings weighing more than a million tonnes cause the lands to drop at a worrying two millimetres per year raising alarms about flooding and long-term viability, the recently published research "Slowly but surely: Exposure of communities and infrastructure to subsidence on the US east coast" in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences observed.

While the "sinking" may seem like a "gradual" process, researchers stressed the impacts and the threat that this poses for the future of these regions. This study also comes as a wake-up call to policymakers and residents who should think about addressing the growing problem.

"We measured subsidence rates of 2 mm per year, affecting more than 2 million people and 800,000 properties on the East Coast," Virginia Tech professor and researcher Manoochehr Shirzaei said.

From New York to DC and beyond, East Coast cities are sinking

Major cities on the U.S. Atlantic coast are sinking at a rate that well outpaces global sea level rise, confirms new research by Virginia Tech and the U.S. Geological Survey.#USEastCoast #SeaLevel #ClimateChange pic.twitter.com/PIG5QLyVlx

— John Reed (@TrussWorthyJohn) January 5, 2024

"We know to some extent that the land is sinking. Through this study, we highlight that the sinking of the land is not an intangible threat. It affects you, me, and everyone; it may be gradual, but the impacts are real." Shirzaei added.

The research emphasise the significant threat posed by this hazard to metropolitan cities like New York, Baltimore and Norfolk, where the increasing sea levels directly intersect with densely populated areas and valuable properties.

The loss of infrastructure on such a massive scale not only poses a hazard to the environment but also has the potential to substantial loss of life.