Seattle among U.S. cities slowly sinking
May 12, 2025, 5:03 AM
Seattle is certainly beautiful on the outside, but has plenty of issues on the inside. That must be part of the reason why people love and hate it. (Photo: Karen Ducey via Getty Images)
(Photo: Karen Ducey via Getty Images)
Seattle is among several major U.S. cities that are slowly sinking.
That’s according to researchers at Virginia Tech, who used satellite-based radar measurements for their study, published in the journal Nature Cities.
They say groundwater extraction is a major factor, along with climate change and tectonic activity.
The movement is slight—Seattle is sinking at about 2 millimeters per year.
“Even slight downward shifts in land can significantly compromise the structural integrity of buildings, roads, bridges, and railways over time,” said Leonard Ohenhen, a former Virginia Tech graduate student and the study’s lead author, in a post on the Virginia Tech website.
He worked with Associate Professor Manoochehr Shirzaei at Virginia Tech’s Earth Observation and Innovation Lab.
The study used satellite-based radar measurements to create high-resolution maps of sinking land in 28 of the most populous U.S. cities. A total of 34 million people–roughly 12% of the U.S. population–live in these cities, according to the post.
“In every city studied, at least 20% of the urban area is sinking—and in 25 of 28 cities, at least 65% is sinking,” the post said. “New York, Chicago, Seattle, Denver, and five other cities are sinking at about 2 millimeters per year. Several cities in Texas exhibited some of the highest measured rates of subsidence at about 5 millimeters per year—and as much as 10 millimeters per year in certain areas of Houston.”
Heather Bosch is an award-winning journalist for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of her stories here.
