Subsistence is a problem in many cities. In Boston, a good portion of the Back Bay (high dollar residential area), is mostly fill that was a swamp ages ago. Many of the old buildings use wooden posts driven into the ground for support. Those lasted for decades, but the water table has been changing, allowing some to rot out...not easy to put new support structures underneath an existing building!
I think it's Jakarta, Indonesia, where they're abandoning the capital city and building a new one that won't be affected by both the sea level rise and the subsistence. The city has grown, and removing ground water has it sinking radically. Mexico City has a simlar problem. This is especially problematic where ever you have clay, as clay compresses considerably when it dries out, and it is much slower to rebound, if it does, as it also then becomes more dense, and doesn't allow that water to infiltrate it.
One report I read today was of a relative that was talking to a resident the evening before this incident...they mentioned that they were awakened by some loud creaking in the building. In general, a big, mainly concrete building creaking is not a good sign...unfortunately, that person probably won't have the benefit of learning from that mistake. Sad
