Seven Cities You Should Visit Before They Sink

from: By mb.com.ph / Yahoo!Ph News

 

When taking a vacation, we always take into consideration two things - the amount of relaxation we'll feel while visiting the place and its beauty. Bangkok, Venice, New York. Who wouldn't want to visit these places, enjoy its structures and experience their culture? But aside from being beautiful places, there is another reason why you should put these places into your next vacation list: they're sinking! So you might as well take your pictures in one of these cities before they do. Below is the list of the seven cities that are about to sink - give or take a few centuries and in some, a few years. Bangkok, Thailand Resting on the Chao Phraya River - which flows into the

Bay of Bangkok about 30 miles south of the city center - this colossal settlement is more likely to drown than sink. Experts now say that this city may be under water in as little as seven years. New York City, New York America's most densely populated city is doomed to suffer the effects of global warming. New York will soon be at a much higher risk of damage from rising sea levels and imposing tropical storms. Science Daily reports that the sea levels in the New York City area are expected to rise about twice as quickly as sea levels around the world. Houston, Texas Houston sits on the loosely packed banks of four major bayous that empty into the Gulf of Mexico.

For years, residents of Houston relied on groundwater to fulfill their needs, but the mass amounts of extraction needed to supply the ever-expanding city weakened Houston's foothold. Oil extraction was also damaging to the foundation, as was continuous sprawl, not to mention the 300 or so active fault lines that run beneath Houston's streets and skyscrapers. This city is sinking by as much as two inches per year, according to Science Daily. Shanghai, China The city was handling rapid expansion just fine until the early 20th century, when wells became a major source of water and the underlying sediment deposit was disturbed.

According to PBS, Shanghai sank roughly eight feet between 1921 and 1965, which equals about two inches per year. The city still continues to drop at a rate of about half an inch per year. According to experts, not much can be done to keep Shanghai above ground - the city is simply too heavy for its foundation. New Orleans, Louisiana In 2006, National Geographic reported that the city sank about a quarter of an inch per year in the years leading up to Hurricane Katrina, while the levees designed to protect the city from the Gulf sank at four or five times that rate, exacerbating the long-term effects of the storm. Venice, Italy According to The Christian Science Monitor, Venice has sunk almost a foot over the past 100 years. To make things worse, water levels in the Mediterranean Sea are also rising. Although acqua alta (high water) has plagued this ornate tourist hotspot for centuries, flooding frequency has increased dramatically in recent years. Justin Demetri of LifeInItaly.com notes that Venice now experiences over 60 bouts of acqua alta each year. Some experts claim that the only way to save the city is to move it altogether. Mexico City, Mexico Mexico City has been facing the possibility of going under for centuries. However, according to geologists, there are parts of this massive metropolis that are sinking by as much as eight inches per year. Because of a lack of sufficient drainage, the city was heavily prone to flooding from groundwater flowing down from the surrounding mountains, leading to the construction of a vast underground drainage system.

Source: Yahoo! Travel