Houston is sinking faster than any other major U.S. city, new research shows.
Why it matters: Land subsidence is an invisible but growing threat to urban infrastructure — cracking roads, destabilizing buildings and making low-lying areas even more flood-prone.
Driving the news: In a peer-reviewed study published this month in Nature, researchers analyzed six years of satellite radar data in the 28 most populous U.S. cities.
- They found Houston was sinking the fastest, with 42% of its area subsiding faster than 5 millimeters per year — and 12% faster than 10 millimeters per year.
- Across the region, long-term groundwater mining and oil and gas extraction have pushed those rates up to 2 inches (5 centimeters) per year in certain areas, according to the study.
Zoom in: The largest rates of recent subsidence are present in the north and western parts of Greater Houston, though they historically have also impacted eastern communities including Baytown and Pasadena…