Map showing maximum land subsidence rates around the world, 2015-2020. Sea levels are rising at an average global rate of 3.4 millimeters. Many places are sinking (known as land subsidence) further than that in a year. Data: Wu, et al., 2022. Graphic: Kasha Patel / The Washington Post

Land around the U.S. is sinking. Here are some of the fastest areas.

By Kasha Patel 30 May 2023 (The Washington Post) – Imagine Earth’s surface is like a stack of pancakes. The pancakes, or layers of soil and rocks, may appear fairly evenly stacked and fluffy. Over time though, the stack can become compressed, thinner and shorter. Scientists observe this downward motion of land, called land subsidence, […]

Coastal erosion encroaches on a house in Happisburgh, Norfolk, UK. Photo: Philip Bird, LRPS CPAGB / Shutterstock

15 towns being slowly swallowed by the sea – Coastal communities fighting a losing battle with the ocean

4 March 2020 (Love Property) – Positioned on the frontline of climate change, the world’s most vulnerable shoreline communities face an uncertain future. Plagued by ever-worsening coastal erosion and rising sea levels, their existence hangs precariously in the balance. As the tide continues to draw in, take a look at 15 towns being gradually reclaimed […]

Indonesians wade through flood water on a street in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, 25 February 2020. Overnight rains caused rivers to burst their banks in greater Jakarta sending muddy water into residential and commercial areas, inundating thousands of homes and paralyzing parts of the city's transport networks, officials said. Photo: Tatan Syuflana / AP Photo

Thousands caught in floods in Indonesia’s sinking capital – More rain expected for the next two weeks – Disaster agency head resigns

By Niniek Karmini 25 February 2020 JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – Floods that have crippled much of Indonesia’s capital worsened Tuesday, inundating thousands of homes and buildings, including the presidential palace, and paralyzing transport networks, officials and witnesses said. Overnight rains caused more rivers to burst their banks in greater Jakarta starting Sunday, sending muddy water […]

A boy plays on a phone after the flood in Bekasi, Indonesia, on 3 January 2020. Photo: Sijori Images / Barcroft Media / Getty Images

Flooding in Jakarta is the worst for over a decade, more rainfall expected – “It was like the end of the world”

9 January 2020 (The Economist) – “It was like the end of the world,” says Nurhayati, dabbing her eyes with the hem of her hijab. On December 31st swollen clouds emptied over Indonesia’s capital, dumping 377 millimetres of rain in one day. That is the most since records began in 1886, according to the state […]

People walk on catwalk set up on the occasion of a high tide, in a flooded Venice, Italy, 12 November 2019. Photo: Luca Bruno / AP Photo

Venice is drowning. It’s a warning of what’s to come.

By Editorial Board 15 November 2019 (The Washington Post) – Venice has always been linked closely with the water that surrounds it. The city is thought to have been founded by refugees seeking protection from Germanic invaders by sheltering in the northwestern Adriatic Sea’s islands and marshes. By the 12th century, the doge would annually […]

Satellite views of land subsidence in Jakarta Indonesia in 1984-1991 and 2010-2015. Data: Subsidence data courtesy of Irwan Gumilar of Geodesy Research Group of ITB; satellite images via Landsat 5 and Landsat 8. Graphic: The New York Times

Indonesia announces site of capital city to replace sinking Jakarta – Choice of Borneo for £27 billion project raises fears of forest destruction and pollution

By Jonathan Watts 26 August 2019 (The Guardian) – Indonesia has announced plans to move its capital from the climate-threatened megalopolis of Jakarta to the sparsely populated island of Borneo, which is home to some of the world’s greatest tropical rainforests. President Joko Widodo said the move was necessary because the burden on Jakarta was […]

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