Cities are sinking, and it’s making them more vulnerable to climate change

Lake Borgne on August 23, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Louisiana’s combination of rising waters and sinking land give it one of the highest rates of relative sea level rise on the planet. | Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

America’s coastal cities are sinking, putting more people at risk for flooding than urban planners might have expected with sea level rise alone.

The gradual sinking of land, also known as land subsidence, could cause flooding to reach far more communities than previously anticipated, according to new research published today in the journal Nature. The study looked at 32 major cities along the US shoreline, and forecasted future flooding with climate change. In a worst-case scenario without adequate flood defenses, up to one in 50 people and one in 35 properties in those cities could face flooding during high tide by 2050.

Cities need to prepare for the double whammy, the researchers contend. The problem is twofold — sinking cities and…