Gigantic cracks known as gullies are opening up in cities in Africa, swallowing up homes and businesses, sometimes in an instant, a study has found.
A new study published in Nature has revealed just how enormous this threat has become, focusing on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Scientists mapped 26 cities across the country and found an astonishing 2,922 massive gullies, each one a scar across the urban landscape. These are not small erosions; they are immense chasms that can stretch hundreds of meters, tearing apart entire communities. And they are spreading.
Between 2004 and 2023, these gullies displaced nearly 118,600 people in the DRC alone. Entire families have been forced to leave homes passed down through generations, while the land beneath their feet collapses into voids. The danger is accelerating—today, 3.2 million people live in areas at risk of being swallowed, double the number from just over a decade ago.
The Earth Is Splitting Open: Giant Cracks Are Swallowing African Cities Whole
Submitted 3 weeks ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to earthscience@mander.xyz
Comments
bitjunkie@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
SpacePanda@mander.xyz 3 weeks ago
Tool, link did not disappoint
AlexLost@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
My guess would be depleted aquifers from over farming in arid areas. Just a guess, but I’ll bet I’m dead on.
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Thanks for making me read the article just to disprove your “I’m dead on” opinion.
AlexLost@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Was I? You said you read it to disprove me but didn’t give an answer? Was I wrong?! I don’t read articles, only headlines. Then I make suppositions!
shalafi@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
The answer is in the article.
AlexLost@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I never learned to read (articles)
Justas@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Many Central African cities are built on sandy terrain and steep slopes—conditions that make the earth especially vulnerable to erosion. When rain falls, instead of soaking gently into the ground, it rushes downhill, carrying grains of soil with it. Over time, rivulets deepen into channels. Left unchecked, those channels can transform into colossal gullies, wide and deep enough to engulf homes, bridges, and entire streets.
Nope.
swelter_spark@reddthat.com 3 weeks ago
Are these similar to the sinkholes we have in the US?
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Look, I don’t want to downplay the very serious impact climate change already has on the so-called global South, but this does not track:
vs
Redfox8@mander.xyz 3 weeks ago
Why spoil making a buck with the truth?!