New York City hit an all-time low — literally.
New research reveals dramatic concerns that the Big Apple, Long Island and many other Atlantic coastal areas are at imminent risk of sinking under the weight of their buildings at an alarming rate.
“It affects you and me and everybody. It may be gradual, but the impact is real,” said Virginia Tech professor and researcher Manoochehr Shirzaei.
Other metropolitan areas such as Baltimore, Maryland, along with Norfolk and Virginia Beach in Virginia, are also flagged as coastal areas of concern that are prone to dangerous flooding due to submerged land.
The new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, highlights that the rate of sinking – scientifically called subsidence – is occurring at a staggering 2 millimeters per year in many areas.
That level, which could potentially affect 2 million people and 800,000 properties along the East Coast, “should be cause for concern,” added lead author Leonard Ohenhen.
New research warns that the East Coast is at risk of flood damage as areas sink into the ground. Virginia Tech News
“For example, key areas of critical infrastructure in New York, including JFK and LaGuardia airports and [their] the tracks, along with the railway system, are affected by subsidence rates of more than 2 millimeters per year.”
September research by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration stated that the area around the LGA and US Open Arthur Ashe Stadium had fallen at 3.7 and 4.6 millimeters per year between 2016 and 2023.
A video that went viral in September also captured scenes of wild flooding at LaGuardia as passengers braved ankle-high water inside the airport.
A Virginia Tech study warns that more than 1,400 miles of East Coast land is sinking at a rate of more than 5 millimeters per year.
That’s four more than the rate of global sea rise.
Coastal areas like NYC are sinking into the ground — and that’s causing an increased risk of flooding. New York Post
Many of these areas are already seeing an influx of issues related to inundation – water overflows more easily with less resistance – through increased flooding, plus strong storms and hurricane surges.
“All climate change models show that in the future, storms, hurricanes will become stronger,” Klaus Jacob, a professor emeritus at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, previously told The Post.
“So that could mean a stronger storm surge, a higher storm surge, and that’s more risk and loss of protection for the city.”
Submerged land leaves additional risks for flooding and storm surges, experts warn. Reuters
This week’s nor’easter, which left large amounts of floodwater in coastal areas like Long Island and Connecticut, is a clear example of such concerns.
But Jacob warned that the area at risk is much wider than just the immediate three-state area.
“Long Island, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, you name it,” he said. “Hudson Valley all the way to Troy … I would say anything at 20 elevation [feet above sea level] and below are extreme risks. There is little risk for heights between 20 and 30 feet.”
He believed that New York City, especially downtown Manhattan, would have to transform itself into a modern Venice in the coming century.
“If we want to make skyscrapers and other buildings work, they need to be mini-islands that stand in the water,” Jacob said.
New York City and Long Island are some of the areas most at high risk for flooding. Natan Dvir
“They need to be serviced not by wheeled taxis, but by amphibious boats. A barge has to come to pick up the trash. And we need more high lines connecting the various buildings to each other.”
As a relatively quick fix, the Army Corps of Engineers proposed a $52 billion series of seawalls to surround areas like Manhattan and the Meadowlands. It has received bipartisan criticism.
“That is a limited period … sooner or later, we will run out of capabilities and means to deal with the issue,” added Jacob. “Now that doesn’t happen tomorrow, but decades after tomorrow and beyond [year] 2100, it will be serious.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
