Like, Seriously Sinking?
Okay, so I just stumbled across this article about buildings sinking in South Florida, and I’m kinda freaked out. Apparently, a bunch of fancy high-rise condos and hotels along the beach, like, 35 of them, are actually sinking! The study looked at a 12-mile stretch from Miami Beach to Sunny Isles Beach. They found these buildings have sunk or settled anywhere from 0.8 to 3.1 inches. That might not sound like a lot, but when you’re talking about a massive building, even a little bit of sinking can be a HUGE deal, right?
I mean, imagine living on the 20th floor and suddenly your building is a few inches lower than it’s supposed to be. What happens to the plumbing? The elevators? Does the pool start overflowing? So many questions! The article says that some of the sinking might be caused by construction nearby, which makes sense, I guess. Like, if you’re digging a huge hole next to a building, maybe the ground underneath the building shifts a little? I don’t know, I’m not an engineer. But it sounds scary.
How Much Sinking is Too Much Sinking?
The study looked at buildings along a 12-mile stretch of coastline. They used something called interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) to measure the sinking. I have no idea what that is, but it sounds super high-tech. And apparently, it’s pretty accurate. They found that the buildings are sinking at different rates, with some sinking more than others. The maximum amount of sinking they found was 3.1 inches, which, again, sounds like a lot to me! I’m picturing cracked walls and doors that won’t close.
A Funny (and Slightly Relevant) Story
This whole sinking building thing reminds me of this one time I was on vacation with my family. We rented this cute little beach cottage that was right on the water. It was all charming and rustic until we realized the floor wasn’t exactly… level. Like, you could actually feel it sloping down towards the ocean. My dad kept joking that the house was slowly sliding into the sea.
One evening, we were all sitting at the dinner table, which was, of course, also tilted. My brother, who is notorious for being clumsy, reached for a glass of water, and the whole thing just slid right off the table and shattered on the (sloping) floor. Water went everywhere! We all started laughing, partly because it was so ridiculous and partly because we were all a little bit nervous that the whole house was about to collapse. Luckily, it didn’t. But I can definitely relate to the feeling of being in a building that’s not quite as stable as you’d like it to be.
What’s Next for These Sinking Buildings?
The article didn’t really say what’s going to happen to these buildings now that they know they’re sinking. Will they try to fix them? Will people have to move out? I’m guessing it’s going to be pretty expensive to deal with, whatever they decide to do. I also wonder if this is happening in other coastal areas. Like, is Miami unique, or are buildings sinking all over the place? I’m definitely going to do some more research on this. It’s kind of fascinating, in a terrifying sort of way.
Key Takeaways (Because I Like Lists)
- 35 high-rise buildings in South Florida are sinking.
- They’ve sunk between 0.8 and 3.1 inches.
- Nearby construction might be a factor.
- They used fancy radar technology to measure the sinking.
- I’m now slightly paranoid about every building I enter.
I’m seriously hoping someone figures out how to stop these buildings from sinking before they end up underwater. It would be a real shame to see those beautiful beachfront properties disappear into the ocean. (And also, probably a major disaster.)
