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Scientists say New York City is sinking by [up / down] to four millimetres a year under the [weights / weight] of all its skyscrapers. A team of geophysicists from the United States Geological Survey [calculations / calculated] that there are 1,084,954 buildings in the city, weighing [abound / around] 764 billion kilograms. This weight does not include fixtures and [fittings / footings] in buildings, the transport infrastructure, or the weight of the city's 8.5 million [inhibitors / inhabitants] . Lead researcher Dr Tom Parsons said the [gradual / gradually] subsidence, [coupled / tripled] with rising sea levels, could make New York [prone / prune] to natural disasters. He warned that "every additional high-rise building could contribute to future flood risk," especially [along / under] coastal and riverfront areas.

The researchers compared what is [happening / experiencing] to New York to the problems Venice and Jakarta are having. Venice is [experienced / experiencing] more floods [despite / in spite] the construction of a $5.3 billion system of sea walls. Indonesia is building a new capital city from [snatch / scratch] because Jakarta is sinking. The United Nations has forecast that 70 per cent of the world's population will [inhabit / inhibit] cities by 2050. Parsons said: "When you build a city and it gets [filled / full] of people, you end up with [subsidence / subsistence] ." He warned that New York City was "[emblematic / emphatic] of a place that people migrate to and that obviously has a [high / height] concentration of construction." Increasing urbanisation will [exacerbate / exterminate] problems for cities.