Many cities are fighting a losing battle against the ravages of nature.
From the Maldives to Mauritania, some cities are engaged in a constant battle for survival against nature’s relentless forces. But which of these metropolises is closest to being overwhelmed by sea, sand or other natural threat?
There are three key natural factors that can make a city vulnerable to gradual disintegration, or even total disappearance – water, sand and wildfire. Natural events are notoriously hard to predict, especially with climate change making the planet hotter and polar ice melting, but the prospects for these seven cities can look particularly grim.
Malé, capital of the Maldives, stands only four feet above sea level. Photograph: Reinhard Krause/Reuters
The Piazza San Marco, Venice’s lowest point, now floods around 100 times a year. Photograph: Andrea Pattaro/AFP/Getty
Florida’s Miami Beach flooded again earlier this week. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Desert-threatened Chinguetti in Mauritania. Photograph: Remi Benali/Corbis
The thirsty Porcupine Creek Golf Club borders the desert in Rancho Mirage, California. Photograph: Chris Carlson/AP
Japan’s Hashima Island was abandoned in 1974 when its coal supplies ran out. Photograph: Michael S Yamashita/Corbis
Bushfire smoke chokes Sydney’s harbour in 2013. Photograph: James D Morgan/Rex
Via: Guardian
