When you think of the Big Apple, you might envision Broadway shows, world-famous museums, and delicious restaurants. You probably don't think of a water park, but a new geological study is warning that could be a reality.
The US Geological Survey found that New York City is sinking into surrounding bodies of water because of the weight of its buildings. This leaves the city vulnerable to flooding. The impact of this has already been seen during Hurricanes Sandy and Ida and is only going to get worse.
It turns out that those New York City skyscrapers and other buildings are heavy, weighing in at 1.7 trillion pounds. This is causing the city to sink 1 to 2 mm a year. While this might not seem significant, Tom Parsons, lead researcher of the US Geological Survey, assures the public it is. The city that never sleeps could become the city that always floods.
“New York faces significant challenges from flood hazard; the threat of sea level rise is 3 to 4 times higher than the global average along the Atlantic coast of North America … A deeply concentrated population of 8.4 million people faces varying degrees of hazard from inundation in New York City,” Parsons and his team cautioned.
More from LittleThings: Teenage Girl Charged In Deadly Beating Of New York City Cab Driver Kutin Gyimah
Recent weather events have already proven Parsons correct. “Two recent hurricanes caused casualties and heavy damage in New York City,” he explains. “In 2012, Hurricane Sandy forced sea water into the city, whereas heavy rainfall from Hurricane Ida in 2021 overwhelmed drainage systems because of heavy runoff within the mostly paved city.”
To learn more about the potential dangers, watch this video.
