Mega-cities on Ocean Coasts>

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"More than a hundred million people worldwide live within three feet of mean sea level" is the headline at the top of page 28 of the September 2004 Special Issue of "National Geographic" devoted to "Global Warning". How many major world cities are close to sea level? How many people live in them? Where? Major Cities of the World Elevation Population Baltamore, Maryland On Coast 650,000 USA Bangkok, Thailand On Coast 7,200,000 Beijing, China 115 feet 7,000,000 Berlin, Germany 100 feet 3,300,000 Boston, Massachusetts 20 feet 570,000 USA Brussels, Belgium ~ Sea Level 950,000 Buenos Aires, Argentina On Coast 3,000,000 Cairo, Egypt On Coast 9,700,000 Cape Town, South Africa On Coast 430,000 Caracas, Venezuela On Coast 3,200,000 Dakar, Senegal On Coast 1,600,000 Dar es Salaam, Tanzaneia On Coast 1,700,000 Hong Kong On Coast 6,100,000 Honolulu On Coast 380,000 Jakarta, Indonesia On Coast 9,300,000 Karachi, Pakistan On Coast 9,300,000 Lagos, Nigera ~ Sea Level 1,200,000 Lisbon, Portugal On Coast 560,000 London, United Kingdom 16 feet 7,600,000 Los Angeles, California On Coast 3,500,000 USA Luanda, Angola On Coast 1,200,000 Manila, Philippines On Coast 1,900,000 Miami, Forida 11 feet 370,000 USA Mumbai = Bombay, India ~ Sea Level 10,000,000 New Orleans, Louisiana -5 feet 500,000 USA New York City, New York On Coast 7,000,000 USA Philadelphia, Pennsylvania On Coast 1,500,000 USA Rio de Janeiro, Brazil On Coast 5,600,000 San Francisco, California On Coast 720,000 USA San Salvador, El Salvador On Coast 420,000 Santiago, Dominican Rep. On Coast 500,000 Seattle, Washington On Coast 540,000 USA Singapore On Coast 4,600,000 Sydney, Australia On Coast 3,700,000 Tokyo, Japan On Coast 11,800,000 Vancouver, Canada On Coast 514,000 Washington. D.C. On Coast 570,000 USA The above chart does not portray the details of how a given ocean rise would affect any city. The variable factors include, but are not limited to: elevation differences within the city, the extent and frequency of storms and ocean-tides and the current exitence of sea-walls, natural protective barriers, land use-patterns etc. Prepared by Paul A Smith