I remember first hearing that Bangkok was sinking from the weight of the buildings around 25 years ago. I found an article (check the first link) that dates back to 1983. Long ago when Bangkok was little more than a small village, most of the land was basically a swamp. The location is part of the delta of the Chao Phraya river. As larger and heavier structures have been constructed, it adds more weight.
On the one hand, in the past there are stories of buildings with big cracks, etc. It hard to say how much of that is urban legend. The thing is that some of the expat old-timers have said if the tales were true, most of the buildings would be showing serious cracks. There doesn't appear to be any such problems with the buildings. Even so, predictions that the city will be permanently flooded within 15 years was touted back in the 1990's.
That's not to say there's no sinkage. From what I understand, the rate of sinking is about 2 cm (0.8") per year in parts of the city. Some predictions suggest Bangkok could be flooded out by the end of the century. It's worth noting that not all of Bangkok is built on soft soil. So some areas are likely to fare out better than others.
When the big floods hit Bangkok several years ago, most of Bangkok was still high and dry. Areas near the river were swamped though, including the Don Muang Airport. But a friend of mine living in the Lat Praew district had no problems, and the areas around Sukhumvit Road and Phrakanong were dry as well. Regardless, some areas around Bangkok could be at risk. When that might be is anyone's guess. Problems could occur sooner is global warming increases. If that should be the case, then Chiang Mai would be a good location for a beachside residence
. (Elevation is a little over 1000').
(Check the dates of the articles)
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/01/w...wn-growth.html
https://www.economist.com/node/304819
https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic...ok-is-sinking/
https://weather.com/science/environm...rming-15-years
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