About 3 dozen high-rise buildings in South Florida are sinking

SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Almost three dozen high-rise condos and luxury hotels along the beach in South Florida are sinking or settling in unexpected ways, in some cases because of nearby construction, according to a new study.

The 35 buildings surveyed along an almost 12-mile (19 kilometer) stretch from Miami Beach to Sunny Isles Beach have sunk or settled by 0.8 to 3.1 inches (2 to 8 cm). About half of the buildings are less than a decade old, according to scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science. The study was published Friday.

“The discovery of the extent of subsidence hotspots along the South Florida coastline was unexpected,” Farzaneh Aziz Zanjani, the lead author, said in a statement. “The study underscores the need for ongoing monitoring and a deeper understanding of the long-term implications for these structures.”

It's not uncommon for buildings to sink a little during and soon after construction, but the scientists called their discovery surprising because some of the changes took place several years later.

Limestone under the South Florida beach is interspersed with layers of sand, which can shift under the weight of high-rises and as a result of vibrations from foundation construction. Tidal flows and construction projects as far away as 1,050 feet (320 meters) have contributed to settling, the researchers found. The study used satellite images to capture the changes, with settling most noticeable in buildings in Sunny Isles Beach. The scientists said preliminary data also suggests sinking or settling further north, along the beaches of Broward and Palm Beach counties.

The stretch of South Florida communities surveyed included Surfside, where the Champlain Towers South building collapsed in June 2021, killing 98 people. However, that collapse is thought to have been caused by reinforced concrete that deteriorated due to poor maintenance and flawed design.

Still, the Surfside catastrophe highlighted the need to monitor building stability "especially in coastal areas with corrosive environmental conditions,” the scientists said.

The scientists said they want to further study whether different sections of impacted buildings are sinking at different rates, which could lead to cracks in their walls or utility breaks and lead to long-term damage.

A separate study earlier this year showed buildings in major cities along the Atlantic Coast were sinking. The research from Virginia Tech and the U.S. Geological Survey showed that areas of New York City, Long Island, Baltimore and Virginia Beach were sinking more than the rate of seawater rise.

The Trump International, left, is shown along Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

High-rise buildings are shown along Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

High-rise buildings are shown along Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

The Four Seasons hotel at the Surf Club is shown in Surfside, Fla., Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

The Trump Grande is shown along Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

People walk along the beach in Surfside, Fla., near the skyline of Sunny Isles Beach, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

FILE - A couple walk on the beach in Surfside, Fla., Tuesday, June 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday launched a new policy that will allow beneficiaries of land taken from white people under contentious land reforms to sell it and to be able to borrow from banks using it as collateral.

This marks a major shift in Zimbabwe's land policy. Previously, the resettled farmers couldn't transfer ownership of land.

However, ownership of the land can only be transferred between “Indigenous Zimbabweans,” a reference to Black Zimbabweans, and will need government approval under the new policy.

Tens of thousands of Black people took over white-owned farms after then President Robert Mugabe initiated the land reforms in 2000. Mugabe, who died in 2019, justified the reforms as being necessary to redress some of the wrongs of colonialism that put most of Zimbabwe's fertile land in the hands of a few white people.

But the new Black farmers weren't allowed to sell or transfer ownership of the land, which was deemed to belong to the state. As a result, banks were reluctant to advance loans to the resettled farmers, who couldn't use their land as collateral.

On Friday, a handful of farmers, including Mnangagwa, received title deeds to the farms they are occupying.

Mnangagwa also announced a technical committee to spearhead the process for other resettled Black farmers.

Speaking at an event held at his farm near Kwekwe city in central Zimbabwe, Mnangagwa said the policy would help “unlock the value” of the land and make it “bankable and transferable.”

About 4,500 white farmers who owned the majority of prime farmland were removed from their farms, often forcibly by violent mobs led by veterans of the country’s 1970s independence war more than 20 years ago.

Some farmers and their workers died or were seriously injured in the violence, which included beatings and rape, according to Human Rights Watch.

The land seizures badly impacted commercial farming, forcing a country that was a key regional food producer and exporter to rely on assistance from donors. Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector has rebounded in recent years, but droughts are now the main challenge.

Securing finance has been another problem that Mnangagwa hopes could be solved by the new policy of issuing title deeds to Black farmers.

Secure land tenure means “our farmers can access credit facilities” and it “lifts many out of poverty into prosperity,” Mnangagwa said.

In October, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said that Zimbabwe would compensate local and foreign white farmers who lost land and property in the farm seizures.

FILE - Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa gestures during his inauguration ceremony at the National Sports Stadium in the capital, Harare, on Sept. 4 2023. (AP Photo /Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, File)