In Mexico City, the soil is giving in to the feet of its inhabitants. In neighborhoods such as Tlahuac and Iztapalapa, residents report that their homes and streets are sinking up to 40 centimeters per year.
The phenomenon does not feel throughout the city of Mexico. While the center of the Mexican capital sinks between 5 and 10 cm per year, zones as a university city remain stable thanks to their volcanic rock soil and the absence of water extraction. The data are from a study by the Institute of Geology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Andrés Contreras lives in Colonia del Mar, Tláhuac and every year he sees his street sinking.
“It has a gap of almost 60 centimeters. Constantly come to repair the street, they put back ripe again, but the slit appears again.”
In Santa Martha Acatitla, Iztapalapa, the situation is even more critical. Some houses have become unashable.
The main cause is the intensive exploitation of aquifers, which leaves underground, and causes the terrain to give in. This process is irreversible and tends to worsen in the areas where aquifers are explored.
According to UNAM the most affected areas are Iztapalapa, Xochimilco, Tlahuac and Chalco, in the state of Mexico.
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