Authorities in Rome are worried that key parts of the city might collapse underfoot because of extensive cavities beneath the streets.
Regional water authorities have surveyed the area and marked off 32 square kilometres where underground catacombs, caverns, mushroom cellars and other remnants of millenia of human activity. Rome had an average of 30 sinkhole collapses a year up to 2008; since then, the figure has tripled, and there have been 83 so far this year, costing millions of Euros in damage.
The oldest parts of the city are among the most affected, but newer areas are also affected; many of them are built on a soft, sandy flood plane that is easily eroded. Add in the vibrations of trains, traffic and a swarm of scooters, and the result is unsurprising.
The city recently announced a multi-million Euro plan to fix the streets, but many question whether it is enough, or whether it will result in, literally, paving over the problem.
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