History Main / SunkenCity

%%* The Teeth in ''Literature/ShipBreaker''.

One of the easiest ways to indicate that a major, Earth-changing event has taken place is to show a city half-sunken, with buildings at unsafe and possibly nausea-inducing cants. This is sometimes the result of a GreenAesop about ClimateChange, but more often it's just used to show that something is ''not right'' in the story's setting. Given the natural fears that arise in an island nation, this happens to UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} a ''lot''. These cities may be empty, abandoned ruins, but can often be seen draped in plant life or inhabited by DisasterScavengers.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Drowntown}}'', future London [[ClimateChange has a lot more water]] than it used to. It's still fully inhabited, however, and has actually gained population as people seek refuge from places that have it worse off. Among other things, the flooding means that water-based transport is now considerably more common — one of the main characters is an aqua-courier, riding through what used to be streets.

* In Creator/KimStanleyRobinson’s book ''New York 2140'', New York has become this due to ClimateChange. This, however, doesn’t mean the city is abandoned: in fact, it still is a vibrant city, only now with canals instead of streets and boats instead of cars

* ClimateChange in ''Literature/TheExpanse'' has resulted in many coastal buildings getting lost in the water.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanet'', the characters go forward in time and see New York underwater. And yes, it was a GreenAesop about ClimateChange.

* In {{Film/Godzilla Vs Megaguirus}}, Tokyo’s district of Shibuya gets flooded by the [[{{DreadfulDragonfly}} meganulons]].

* In Creator/KimStanleyRobinson’s book ''New York 2140'', New York has become this due to GlobalWarming. This, however, doesn’t mean the city is abandoned: in fact, it still is a vibrant city, only now with canals instead of streets and boats instead of cars

* In ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', the city of New Londo is half submerged in water, and mostly populated by homicidal ghosts. It turns out that the city was flooded by the Three Healers when the Darkwraiths (humans feeding on "Humanity" and becoming twisted by the Dark) began to get out of control and the Abyss began to take shape beneath New Londo: flooding the city sealed both of those up and put a stop to the spread of the Abyss.
** ''VideoGame/DarkSouls2'' has a couple: the realm of Heide is almost completely submerged by the sea, with only a couple of towers still habitable above the water. The Iron Keep is likewise sunken... in ''lava''. The Old Iron King became too greedy, and built his castle too high; the castle (suggested to be pure iron) got really, really heavy and partially sank into the volcano the King had insisted it be built on.

One of the easiest ways to indicate that a major, Earth-changing event has taken place is to show a city half-sunken, with buildings at unsafe and possibly nausea-inducing cants. This is sometimes the result of a GreenAesop about ClimateChange, but more often it's just used to show that something is ''not right'' in the story's setting. Given the natural fears that arise in an island nation, this happens to UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} a ''lot''.

The quintessential example is, of course, {{Atlantis}}.

* GlobalWarming in ''Literature/TheExpanse'' has resulted in many coastal buildings getting lost in the water.

One of the easiest ways to indicate that a major, Earth-changing event has taken place is to show a city half-sunken, with buildings at unsafe and possibly nausea-inducing cants. This is sometimes the result of a GreenAesop about GlobalWarming, but more often it's just used to show that something is ''not right'' in the story's setting. Given the natural fears that arise in an island nation, this happens to UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} a ''lot''.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Drowntown}}'', future London [[GlobalWarming has a lot more water]] than it used to. It's still fully inhabited, however, and has actually gained population as people seek refuge from places that have it worse off. Among other things, the flooding means that water-based transport is now considerably more common — one of the main characters is an aqua-courier, riding through what used to be streets.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanet'', the characters go forward in time and see New York underwater. And yes, it was a GreenAesop about GlobalWarming.

One of the easiest ways to indicate that a major, Earth-changing event has taken place is to show a city half-sunken, with buildings at unsafe and possibly nausea-inducing cants. This is sometimes the result of a GreenAesop about GlobalWarming, but more often it's just used to show that something is ''not right'' in the story's setting.

Given the natural fears that arise in an island nation, this happens to Japan a ''lot''.

* Nanoha and Fate's final battle in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaTheMovieFirst'' takes place in simulated in a simulated submerged city. They use the same simulation for a training match the beginning of ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaReflection Reflection]]'', [[CallBack with Nanoha commenting on how nostalgic it is]].

* In ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', the titular kingdom's capital is protected by a massive air bubble but the outskirts are exposed to the ocean and in ruins.

* In ''Creator/KimStanleyRobinson''’s book ''New York 2140'', New York has become this due to GlobalWarming. This, however, doesn’t mean the city is abandoned: in fact, it still is a vibrant city, only now with canals instead of streets and boats instead of cars

* In Kim Stanley Robinson’s book ''New York 2140'', New York has become this due to GlobalWarming. This, however, doesn’t mean the city is abandoned: in fact, it still is a vibrant city, only now with canals instead of streets and boats instead of cars

* Hydro-electric damn projects often force towns upstream to be evacuated and eventually the sites are submerged.

* Mark Schultz's ''ComicBook/XenozoicTales'', set a few thousand years in the future after apocalyptic cataclysms, has New York City now named the "City in the Sea" (the name "New York City" forgotten long ago), with most buildings now standing in the sea above the surface, but still a fully populated city.

* Creator/HPLovecraft's "Literature/TheColourOutOfSpace" takes place in a region of Massachusetts which is eventually flooded to create a reservoir. Several homesteads and small towns end up submerged, including the [[StarfishAliens Colour]]-infested farm. (Minus the Colour, this is TruthInTelevision, as the Quabbin Reservoir was created in this manner.)

* In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', near the end of the game, Station Square gets submerged underwater. With the power of Super Sonic, you have nto do battle against Perfect Chaos, who was the cause of the devastation.

* Atlanta in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', PlayedForLaughs of course. "The Lost City of Atlanta!"

* In SonicAdventure, near the end of the game, Station Square gets submerged underwater. With the power of Super Sonic, you have nto do battle against Perfect Chaos, who was the cause of the devastation.

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* In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'', [[spoiler:Tokyo gets flooded by God]] during the final leg of the game. [[spoiler:As if being struck by nukes and subsequently turned into a lawless hellhole earlier wasn't bad enough!]]

* In ''Literature/{{Firefight}}'' of Literature/TheReckonersTrilogy, Babylon Restored, formerly Manhattan is flooded. The [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Epic]] Regalia who rules the city did this intentionally to boost up her MakingASplash powers within her domain.

* In ''Literature/DarkLife'', any city that is coastal in our time has become this.
%%* The Teeth in ''Literature/ShipBreaker''.
* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheIsles'', it seems like you can't turn around without without running into a sunken city or island. They don't always stay sunken, either, what with all the wizards running around.
* In ''Literature/TheKillOrder'', Mark often flashes back to living in a skyscraper, because the city was flooded with scorching water after the solar flares melted the ice caps.
* Creator/HPLovecraft's "Literature/TheColourOutOfSpace" takes place in a region of Massachusetts which is eventually flooded to create a reservoir. Several homesteads and small towns end up submerged, including the [[StarfishAliens Colour]]-infested farm. (Minus the Colour, this is TruthInTelevision, as the Quabbin Reservoir was created in this manner.)