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With rising sea levels, Bangkok struggles to stay afloat.
As Bangkok prepares to host climate-change talks, the sprawling city of more than 10 million is itself under siege from the environment, with dire forecasts warning it could be partially submerged in just over a decade.
[...] As temperatures rise, abnormal weather patterns—like more powerful cyclones, erratic rainfall, and intense droughts and floods—are predicted to worsen over time, adding pressure on governments tasked with bringing the 2015 Paris climate treaty to life.
Bangkok, built on once-marshy land about 1.5 metres (five feet) above sea level, is projected to be one of the world's hardest hit urban areas, alongside fellow Southeast Asian behemoths Jakarta and Manila.
"Nearly 40 percent" of Bangkok will be inundated by as early as 2030 due to extreme rainfall and changes in weather patterns, according to a World Bank report.
Currently, the capital "is sinking one to two centimetres a year and there is a risk of massive flooding in the near future," said Tara Buakamsri of Greenpeace.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Gaaark on Monday September 03 2018, @03:35PM (3 children)
Yup! When we moved to where we are, i knew the chance of (seriously damaging ) earthquake was almost nil (why live in California when you KNOW a big one is coming and you could lose EVERYTHING?):
the one thing i DID look for was a house at the top of a hill, not the bottom.
Rain run-off can be a bitch and i listen to the neighbours at the bottom of the hill/road moaning about water damage and have to kind of pat myself on the back.
Also, if living at the run-off point, don't settle with just one pump to drain your basement: get at least two. One will CERTAINLY fail just when you need it. Another lesson learned from the moaning.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Tuesday September 04 2018, @02:48AM (2 children)
Unless you live at the top of a hill that suffers from soggy landslip syndrome; then you're first into the ditch. On the plus side, you'll land atop your soggier downhill neighbors.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday September 04 2018, @12:26PM (1 child)
Makes me wonder... If you live at the top of the hill and your shit slides a quarter mile down and parks itself on someone else's house, who owns the land where your house sits now? I mean you did kind of bring your land with you but theirs is also under there.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Tuesday September 04 2018, @01:10PM
Far as I know, land ownership works on the principle of vertical boundaries. So when your house squats atop someone else's house, that's either trespassing or a home invasion. Oh, and you'll need a winch. ;)
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.