Alarming new forecasts reveal how America's iconic coastal cities could soon be swallowed by the ocean
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Millions of people living in US coastal cities could see their homes sink into the ocean in the coming decades, a study warns. Researchers at the US Geological Survey (USGS) forecast that by 2100, the East Coast will be devastated by rising sea levels, flooding and sinking land.
They estimate that if the sea level rises 3.2 feet by 2100, as the United Nations has predicted, more than 14 million Americans would be affected in places like Norfolk, Virginia to Miami, Florida and New York City. They estimated that it would cost over $1 trillion of property damage and cause the region to lose up to 80 percent of it's beaches.
Meanwhile, a separate study found that California's immense water demands are causing parts of the state to sink at record-breaking rates. Researchers at Stanford University found that the San Joaquin Valley is sinking at a rate of nearly one inch per year.
The phenomenon, called subsidence, is often caused by removing water, natural gas or mineral resources from the ground. When water is continuously extracted from the Earth's surface and isn't replenished, it causes the sediments to compress, damaging aqueducts and permanently altering aquifers.
'There are two astonishing things about the subsidence in the valley,' said the study's co-author Rosemary Knight. 'First, is the magnitude of what occurred prior to 1970. And second, is that it is happening again today.'. Rising sea levels, hurricanes and sinking land has caused parts of the east coast to flood. Pictured: Heavy rain hit Alexandria, Virginia in 2021 which caused some of the worst flooding and damages in decades.