Coastal residents should seek higher ground: study

Share: Email Story Twitter Facebook Stumbleupon Add to Any
by Kaitlin | March 28, 2007 at 11:45 am
1288 views | 0 Recommendations | 0 comments

Photos

My Bike

My Bike

see larger image

uploaded by IsPhoto2007

Coastal cities are always destinations, whether for work or play, and many of the world's largest cities are also on their country's coastline. Historically speaking, port cities often remain centres of commerce long after their economies shift focus. A new study done by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in London states that, due to this allegiance to the coast, many of us are going to find ourselves in grave danger in the years to come. Essentially, the risk is increasing right along with the population to these areas.

In all, 634 million people live in the threatened coastal areas worldwide — defined as those lying at less than 33 feet above sea level — and the number is growing, said the study published in the journal Environment and Urbanization.

More than 180 countries have populations in low-elevation coastal zones, and about 70 percent of those have urban areas of more than 5 million people that are under threat. Among them: Tokyo; New York; Mumbai, India; Shanghai, China; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Source: news.yahoo.com

Advertisement
Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

Comments (0)

This story was created over 3 months ago, the comment thread is now closed.

in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

NowPublic on Facebook

What is NowPublic?

NowPublic lets people work together to cover news events around the world.

Find out more

Crowd Power

These members have powered this story:

Most Recommended Stories in Environment

Track this Story

 

closeSign in to NowPublic

Not a member?

JoinIt's free!

is reporting from
Member
NP Rank: