The Dead Sea Subsidence and Sinkhole Disasters, over Two Decades of Monitoring and Studies. It Is Time for an Early Warning System Now!

As a consequences of the rapid lowering of the Dead Sea water level, which began in the 1960s, parts of the Dead Sea costal areas, could be considered as the most rapidly plagued with subsidence problems in the world. Yet some of these areas on the Jordanian half of the Dead Sea are becoming the focal point of Jordan’s touristic development efforts and plans which will potentially implicate billions of US $s. Even before the multiple diversions of most the used to become Dead Sea water, the area is known to be geologically sensitive with possible, both natural and induced hazard concerns. Important parts of the coastal area is undergoing rapid and accelerating subsidence and sinkholes proliferation phenomena Further more the area's tectonic setting and conditions are further complicated by this induced and generalized subsidence phenomena which led during the last few decades to the development of a quite threatening situation.