US East Coast Sinking

Ground subsidence is happening around the world. Some places are actually rising, naturally. Unfortunately for the east coast of the US, a recent study by Virginia Tech found that the coastal areas are sinking by about 2-5 mm per year. This study concentrated on one of the most populated areas of North America, directly affecting about 2,000,000 people and 800,000 properties. Because it involves shorelines, it affects valuable waterfront real estate, too.

“In several cities along the East Coast, multiple critical infrastructures such as roads, railways, airports, and levees are affected by differing subsidence rates.” – Virginia Tech

Additionally, while the land is sinking the ocean water is rising at a similar rate, ~2 mm/year. The two effects, ground subsidence and sea level rise, are additive and hence hasten the effect and the need to migrate, reinforce, and mitigate as necessary.