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Miami is sinking.
Luxury beachfront condos and hotels in the Florida city are sinking into the ground at an “unexpected” rate, according to a new study published in the journal Earth and Space Sciences, the Miami Herald reported.
About 70% of buildings in Sunny Isles, in the city’s north and central regions, were affected, according to the University of Miami, which prepared the report.
Researchers publishing the study identified 35 buildings that reportedly sank up to 3 inches between 2016 and 2023.
Some of Miami’s iconic landmarks are included in the list of 35 buildings affected. Faena Hotel, Porsche Design Tower, Surf Club Towers, Trump Tower II, Trump International Beach Resort, and Ritz-Carlton Residences. All located within submerged structures.
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The study’s lead author, Falk Amelung of the University of Miami, told the Miami Herald that virtually every building built along the coast of Miami’s Outer Barrier Island is sinking.
In fact, the study was prompted by the tragic 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers in Surfside, killing 98 people and sparking increased structural reviews of apartments and condominiums across the state. Got it.
Using satellite data that can measure small changes in ground subsidence (subsidence) over time, researchers found that subsidence was not the cause of the Champlain Tower collapse. They found no evidence of land subsidence there, but disputed much evidence along Miami’s coastline.
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Amelung told the Miami Herald that areas ranging from 0.8 inches to more than 3 inches have been found to have settled, primarily in Sunny Isles Beach, Surfside, and two buildings in Miami Beach, the Faena Hotel and L’Atelier Condominiums. He said he discovered it. They found another one in Bal Harbor.
What does that mean for coastlines and the people who live and vacation there? No one is sure yet. Further research will be needed to determine what exactly this finding means for the region.
Newly constructed buildings typically sink a few inches in the first few years after construction as they settle into the ground. Just because a building has settled a little does not mean it has lost its structural integrity. Paul Chinowski, a civil engineering professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, told the Miami Herald that as long as the settlement is even and the building doesn’t lean, the structure usually maintains its integrity.
At this time, it is unclear whether the sinking buildings identified in the survey are sinking uniformly or in a way that could cause structural damage.
That will be the next step for the researchers. They will determine whether the building is sinking in a way that could damage the structure and endanger people inside or around it.
Until more research is done, it will not be clear what exactly is causing land subsidence, but it cannot be ruled out that climate change may be contributing.
Rising sea levels, caused by humans burning fossil fuels that warm the planet and change the climate, are eroding the U.S. coastline, including the underlying sand and limestone that supports the pillars that support the structures of high-rise apartment buildings.
Intensified waves and increased rainfall (both consequences of climate change) can also contribute to coastline erosion.
In addition to threatening the building itself, issues such as subsidence can also drive up the cost of home insurance. Over the past two decades, Americans have moved and built in disaster-prone lands, whether it’s Florida, wildfire-prone areas in the West, or hailstorm-prone areas of central Texas. I’ve been spending a lot of time on that.
This trend of living and building in places where buildings are constantly being battered by inclement weather is driving up home insurance premiums.
