Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
NEW YORK, 8th Jan. According to a new research study released on Sunday found out that the US East Coast continues to sink at an alarming rate up to 74,000 square kilometres of the Atlantic Coast are exposed to “subsidence” of up to 2 millimeters (0.079 inches) a year, affecting up to 14 million people and more than 6 million properties.
Ars Technica reports cited the study published in the journal PNAS Nexus said over 3,700 sq. kilometers along the Atlantic Coast are sinking more than 5 millimeters annually faster than sea-level rise which is at 4 millimeters a year.
The authors noted “Major cities such as New York, Baltimore and Norfolk are exposed to subsidence rates between 1 and 2 mm per year. Additionally, our analysis indicates a notable trend: as subsidence rates increase, the extent of area exposed to these hazards correspondingly decreases,”.
It said that with each millimeter of subsidence, it gets easier for storms to enter in lands, caused widespread damage.
Leonard Ohenhen, study’s lead author and an environmental security expert at Virginia Tech said that “It’s not just about sea levels. You also have potential to disrupt the topography of the land, for example, so you have areas that can get full of flooding when it rains,”.
The study found that “By quantifying the exposure to subsidence hazards for coastal communities and infrastructure, subsidence rates of 2 mm per year affects a maximum of 2.1 million people, 867,000 properties (median exposure), and significant infrastructure on the East Coast.
The authors noted “This hazard is a major threat to metropolitan cities such as New York, Baltimore, and Norfolk, whose populations and properties intersect directly with the rising seas. Our study provides important quantitative data for coastal disaster resilience planning”.
They noted that the analysis has far-reaching implications for community and infrastructure resilience planning, emphasized the need for a targeted approach in transitioning from reactive to proactive hazard mitigation strategies in the era of climate change.
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