Subsiding land is a bigger immediate problem for the world's coastal cities than sea level rise, say scientists. Gilles Erkens from the Deltares Research Institute in the Netherlands, said parts of Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok and numerous other coastal urban settlements would sink below sea level unless action was taken. His group's assessment of those cities found them to be in various stages of dealing with their problems, but also identified best practice that could be shared. "Land subsidence and sea level rise are both happening, and they are both contributing to the same problem - larger and longer floods, and bigger inundation depth of floods," Dr Erkens told BBC News. http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27202192