Scientists are very clear: areas of Oahu, in Hawaii, are sinking up to 40 times faster than predicted, and this could accelerate floods in Honolulu, Waikiki, and Pearl Harbor in the coming decades, threatening homes, businesses, and infrastructure with estimated damages of billions of dollars.

Written by Romário Pereira de Carvalho

Published on 06/05/2026 at 16:47

Updated on 06/05/2026 at 16:48

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Scientists point out that low-lying areas of Oahu, Hawaii, are sinking up to 40 times faster than predicted, increasing flood risks in Honolulu, Waikiki, and Pearl Harbor in the coming decades

Certain areas of the island of Oahu, Hawaii, are sinking up to 40 times faster than predicted, increasing the risk of flooding in Honolulu, Waikiki, and Pearl Harbor in the coming decades.

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Oahu is sinking at a much faster rate than predicted

The finding was presented by scientists who analyzed soil behavior amidst rising sea levels.

The study indicates that low-lying coastal areas may experience impacts sooner than imagined.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Ground subsidence can accelerate coastal flooding

Sea-level rise linked to climate change already increases the risk of coastal flooding in low-lying neighborhoods around Honolulu. The new survey shows that ground subsidence can amplify this risk.

The assessment was highlighted by Dr. Kristina Dahl, vice president of science at Climate Central. She stated that subsidence can intensify the impacts associated with the ocean’s advance over lower coastal areas.

The central point of the research lies in the interaction between two factors. On one hand, sea levels continue to rise; on the other, parts of the territory lose altitude, making certain regions exposed to extreme flooding.

Satellite data analyzed for almost twenty years

To examine the phenomenon, researchers spent almost twenty years evaluating satellite data from the Hawaiian Islands.

The information was compared with measurements from the Global Satellite Navigation System to calculate subsidence rates.

The team mapped coastal topography with a high-resolution digital elevation model. Afterwards, they used geospatial analyses to identify subtle variations in terrain elevation.

This data cross-referencing allowed for the construction of a model on the combined effects of ground subsidence and sea-level rise.

The result indicated an exacerbation of flooding in certain areas of Oahu.

Rate reaches 25 millimeters per year in coastal areas

The Hawaiian islands slowly sink as they move away from the Big Island. This process, associated with the weight of the islands and the movement of tectonic plates, has shaped the archipelago over millions of years.

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In Oahu, the overall annual subsidence rate was about 0.6 millimeters per year, approximately the thickness of ten sheets of copy paper. However, certain coastal regions recorded 25 millimeters per year.

This rate is 40 times faster, according to a statement from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The rate also exceeds Hawaii’s average subsidence, calculated at 1.54 millimeters per year since 1905.

Low-lying areas may feel impacts in the coming decades

The situation is concerning because it involves well-known and populated regions, such as Honolulu, Waikiki, and Pearl Harbor. In these areas, the loss of ground elevation can accelerate problems that previously seemed more distant.

The study indicates that the impacts of sea-level rise do not depend solely on the advance of water. When the ground also sinks, urban areas face a more delicate scenario.

Scientists point out that the changes found were unprecedented. The speed recorded in parts of Oahu makes the Oahu sinks a warning for coastal risks, infrastructure, and occupation in low-lying areas of Hawaii.

With information from New York Post.

Scientists are very clear: areas of Oahu, in Hawaii, are sinking up to 40 times faster than predicted, and this could accelerate floods in Honolulu, Waikiki, and Pearl Harbor in the coming decades, threatening homes, businesses, and infrastructure with estimated damages of billions of dollars.

Scientists point out that low-lying areas of Oahu, Hawaii, are sinking up to 40 times faster than predicted, increasing flood risks in Honolulu, Waikiki, and Pearl Harbor in the coming decades

Oahu is sinking at a much faster rate than predicted

Ground subsidence can accelerate coastal flooding

Satellite data analyzed for almost twenty years

Rate reaches 25 millimeters per year in coastal areas

Low-lying areas may feel impacts in the coming decades

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Scientists are very clear: areas of Oahu, in Hawaii, are sinking up to 40 times faster than predicted, and this could accelerate floods in Honolulu, Waikiki, and Pearl Harbor in the coming decades, threatening homes, businesses, and infrastructure with estimated damages of billions of dollars.

Scientists point out that low-lying areas of Oahu, Hawaii, are sinking up to 40 times faster than predicted, increasing flood risks in Honolulu, Waikiki, and Pearl Harbor in the coming decades

Oahu is sinking at a much faster rate than predicted

Ground subsidence can accelerate coastal flooding

Satellite data analyzed for almost twenty years

Rate reaches 25 millimeters per year in coastal areas

Low-lying areas may feel impacts in the coming decades

A giant printer called the “Ferrari” of concrete has landed in Latin America and can already build a 120-square-meter house in just 48 hours, making the traditional construction site look like something from the last century.

Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt has ceased to be a climatic phenomenon and has become a biological system that feeds on itself, with 8,000 kilometers in length, 37 million tons of algae, and scientists confirm that it is now permanent.

A British company has installed in the middle of the ocean the world’s first floating platform that generates electricity 24 hours a day from the temperature difference between the surface and the depths of the Atlantic, without relying on wind or sun.

Brazil will harvest a record crop of up to 357 million tons of grains, but it does not have the capacity to store a large part of it. The storage deficit has reached the highest level in history and is equivalent to almost the entire production of Argentina.

Engineers had to pour concrete mixed with tons of ice throughout entire nights in the Dubai desert to erect the Burj Khalifa; any carelessness could clog the pipes half a mile high.

The James Webb telescope spotted a planet 700 light-years from Earth with mornings full of sand clouds and nights with clear skies, the temperature difference between the two hemispheres reaches an impressive 170 degrees.

Air bubbles from 3 million years ago extracted from Antarctic ice reveal that the current level of CO₂ has already surpassed that of the ancient, warm world, when the sea was up to 20 meters higher and there were no factories or cars burning fuel.

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