A report from the World Economic Forum says one of the largest cities in Texas is also one of the fastest sinking cities in the world.

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Rising sea levels are a real problem for many coastal cities around the world. I've always heard that Miami would be one of the first to go if the east coast was to see a rapid rise in seal levels, but it turns out Houston, Texas may be sinking faster.

Sinking City

A new study finds that there are at least 33 cities around the world that are sinking faster than sea levels around them are rising. Like I said, Houston Texas is one of those cities. Houston is sinking at a rate of 1.95 centimeters per year and is the 10th fastest sinking city in the world and the only city in the Western Hemisphere to make the top 10.

Houston places at number 10 on the list of fastest sinking coastal cities. Here are the other 9:

- Kerala, India at 1.96 centimeters (per year)
- Kobe, Japan at 2.26 centimeters
- Chittagong, Bangladesh at 2.35 centimeters
- Hanoi, Vietnam at 2.44 centimeters
- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam at 2.81 centimeters
- Shanghai, China at 2.94 centimeters
- Jakarta, Indonesia at 3.44 centimeters
- Semarang, Indonesia at 3.96 centimeters
- Tianjin, China at 5.22 centimeters

Houston is Sinking, But Not All At the Same Time

Another World Economic Report says that not all of Houston is sinking at the same rate. Some parts of the city are actually sinking much faster than other parts - as much as 2 inches per year. At that rate, Houston could simply "disappear" by the year 2100.

Why is Houston Sinking?

It's called subsidence - the settling and compacting of land based on changes beneath the surface of the ground, and groundwater pumping is the major cause. The Texas Living Waters Project reports that since 1836, 3,200 square miles of Houston has sunk more than a foot, with some parts sinking 12 to 13 feet because of groundwater pumping.

There are steps being taken to slow the sinking, like reducing the groundwater usage so although subsidence can't be reversed, it can be slowed down.

So, if you are ever in Houston and you start to get that sinking feeling, now you know why.

This $170M Texas Ranch With 65,000 Acres Is a Dog Lover’s Dream Home

Mesa Vista, the 65,000-acre Panhandle ranch, which belonged to oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens until his death three years ago, has been up for sale since 2017. The list of mind-blowing amenities is long, but for the price it's quite a deal!

The property includes its own golf course, a chapel with a memory garden, an airport with a private apartment for the pilot, and a 40-unit kennel, complete with a bronze dog sculpture in front of the building. Pickens, who was an avid hunter and dog lover, told Land Report in 2015Back when I couldn’t afford one bird dog, I had two. When I couldn’t afford two, I had three.”

Let's take a look around this incredible piece of property, which was recently reduced from $250 to $170 million, and see what kind of luxuries you and your furry friends could enjoy!

The Most Dangerous City in Texas for 2022 May Surprise You

According to FBI statistics, Texas had 438 violent crimes and 2,562 property crimes per 100,000 residents as of this year. For every 100,000 residents, there are 224 police officers statewide.

Crime rates are expressed as the number of incidents per 100,000 people.

 

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