Massive Highway Crevasse Dismantles Semi in Northern California (Dec 21)
A big-rig truck broke into pieces on Highway 162 in Mendocino County Friday morning after a 30-foot sinkhole opened up in the roadway.

Around 7 a.m. the trucker was hauling supplies near Covelo when the sinkhole opened and separated his cab and the trailer, while tearing off an axel in the process. The driver’s cab was stranded on the washed-out portion of the road. He was not injured, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff Department.

People traveling into Covelo – a town of about 3,000 – are being forced to use an alternate dirt road for the time being.

Source
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/12/21/sinkhole-swallows-piece...

MASSIVE SINKHOLE APPEARS IN YUMA, ARIZONA (DEC 25)

A massive sink opened up on Arizona Avenue near 10th Street early Monday. The hole measures approximately 60 feet in length, 30 feet in width, and nearly 25 feet deep.

Motorists traveling on Arizona Avenue where it curves into Walnut Avenue got a shock early Monday morning when they came across a huge sinkhole where the northbound lane had been in the roadway near 10th Street.

So instead of having Monday off for Christmas, city workers were scrambling to repair the damage.

What had been the northbound lane of the busy roadway in the area between a county retention basin on one side and McNeece Brothers Oil, 1060 S. Walnut Ave., on the other had become an enormous hole 60 feet long, 30 feet wide and 25 feet deep.

Source

Sinkhole Swallows Bus Near San Diego, CA (Dec 26)

A water main break in Oceanside caused a sinkhole that trapped a bus and left up to 400 homes without water early Wednesday.

Two workers who went to the bus driver’s rescue fell into the sinkhole in water that was over their heads.

“One fell in and then the other ran to help him and he fell in,” said Troublefield, who arrived for work around 7 a.m., right after the North County Transit District bus dropped into the sinkhole in front of her apartment complex.

“He went in and went all the way down, then came up,” Troublefield said.

The two workers managed to pull themselves out as police and other city workers ran to their aid, Troublefield said.

The 184-unit apartment complex that Troublefield manages was smack in the middle of the homes affected by the broken water line and several residents were none too happy when they awoke Wednesday morning to find toilets that wouldn’t flush and faucets that spit air when turned on.

The bus driver whose bus got stuck in the sinkhole was alone on the bus and unhurt when the front wheels sank into the hole on Los Arbolitos Boulevard near Fredricks Avenue about 7 a.m., Oceanside police Sgt. Tom Wayer said.

He said it was raining at the time and the street was flooded, hiding the sinkhole from the driver’s sight.

City crews shut off water to the broken line and a tow truck pulled the bus out of the hole by about 8 a.m., Wayer said.

Sources

http://www.10news.com/news/oceanside-water-main-break-creates-sinkh...

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/dec/27/tp-sinkhole-traps-bus-cu...

Outbreak of water main ruptures in New Madrid region.

Dozens of Water Main Breaks in Topeka Kansas (Jan 1)

20 Water Main Breaks Per Day in St. Louis Missouri (Dec 31)

Water Main Break Collapses Louisville Kentucky Street (Dec 31)

Enormous Water Main Break Floods Roads in Green Bay (Dec 30)

"Officials say they may never know why the pipe broke. They say it was tested 2 years ago, and should have lasted another 40 years without any problems."

Boil Order Issued from Water Main Break in Quincy Illinois (Dec 30)

Water Main Breaks in Eastern Texas (Dec 31)

Several busted water mains create a headache for the City of New Boston, Texas.

Since Christmas Eve, city crews have repaired about ten water main breaks.

Superintendent of Operations Mark Mayo says some residents were temporarily without water.

He says the line breaks are mainly caused by the drastic change in weather.

"When you go from hot to cold, that's when the ground will really start to shift," said Mayo.

The City of Dekalb (12 miles away) is also reporting a few water main breaks.

However, officials with Texarkana (34 miles away) Water Utilities say they haven't had any big issues with the area water mains. 

Sinkhole Prompts Traffic in College Area, San Diego (Jan 1)

A sinkhole in College Area is forcing police to conduct traffic control.

The sinkhole formed at College Avenue and Lindo Paseo Drive around 11 a.m.

Cars are having difficulty traveling through the area.

Residents advised to evacuate after second sinkhole opens, Pennsylvania (Jan 1)

Video of Brazilian sinkhole swallowing a small car.  Complete ingestion occurs from time 1:30 onward.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Sidewalk-Collapse-Heavy-Woman-...

A woman had to be rescued in a sidewalk collapse on the Upper East Side Friday night, officials said. 

Fire officials on the scene said a very heavy woman fell seven feet below the street when the sidewalk gave way in front of 301 E. 60th St., by Second Avenue.

The woman was waiting for the bus and in an attempt to get shelter from the rain, moved closer to the building, officials said. A section of the sidewalk, about three inches thick, gave way and she fell seven feet into the basement.

Responders were able to secure the area and retrieve the woman, who was taken to Cornell Hospital a few blocks away.

New York Postal Worker Nearly Swallowed by Sinkhole (Jan 16)

Tom Kelly, a 14 year veteran of the post office, decided to drive a different way to work, but it turned out to be a near fatal choice.

His car landed in a sinkhole and it started to fill with water.

A 12 inch water main underneath Mount Pleasant Road burst, sending Kelly's vehicle into the sinkhole as the water poured into it.

"I couldn't get out. First thing I tried was to open the door, but I couldn't open the door. I couldn't get my seatbelt off," Kelly said. "The water is rising very rapidly, very fast. It came up to my chest, and I started panicking, and I honestly thought I was going to die."

Somehow, Kelly says he managed to push open the door to his Chevy.

But he managed to pull himself out of the cold, dark, wet hole and would get help from neighbors who heard the crash.

"Thank God he didn't get hurt. How he got out of it, I don't know?" Carmin Genna said.

"He was very frightened. All he could think about was that he was going to die here," Charlie Passarella said.

Kelly says his motivation for survival was his 2-year-old daughter Morgan.

"I wasn't ready to go today. I didn't want to and I wasn't ready to," he said.

Kelly says he had an angel helping him: his father-in-law who recently passed away. He says he'll be back to work at the post office on Wednesday.

Source

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/gallery?section=news&id=8955510&...

Massive Sinkhole Opens Under Parked Car in Holladay Utah (Jan 19)
People called 911 when they saw the 20-by-20 hole open up in a parking lot at 4525 S. Wasatch Blvd.

The tire of a nearby car was caught on the edge of the hole, but there was no one was in the vehicle at the time.

"We aren't certain (what caused the sinkhole)," said Unified Fire Capt. Fernando Rivero. "We can hear water running, and that's all we know at this point. We aren't able to get close enough to determine whether its a leak or just water running under there."

It will take some time to fix the hole. Fire crews estimate it's about 8 to 10 feet deep.

Source

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=23792598&nid=148

Giant Sinkhole Strands Residents Near Bluff City Tennessee (Jan 19)
Members of the Hickory Tree Volunteer Fire Department began draining flood waters Saturday from a massive sinkhole on Barnette Road in the Chinquapin Road community, just outside of Bluff City, Tenn.

Barnette Road is completely under water for about 150 feet. The sinkhole, which took out part of the road, is roughly 75 feet across.

Fire crews are using a pumper truck and large hoses to pump the water uphill from the road, where the high water has blocked any exit for about 10 residents of the community.

They've really been on an island. It's been unfortunate, but the good news is that today we're able to see the volunteer fire department come out and make a big difference," says State Representative Timothy Hill.

Crews have been pumping out 14-thousand gallons of water per minute to try to get the water cleared out.

Twelve families are on the other side of the water unable to leave.

"They've run ATVs in from the other side to bring them some supplies in. They hadn't been able to get out to go to work and then when the snow hit and it froze, they lost all their power too," says volunteer Bobby Richards.

Resident Bobby Barnett says he's never seen it flood this bad.

"I've lived here all my life- it's the worst I've ever seen it. I've seen it flood before, but this is so much it can't take it. Somethings gonna have to be done about that hole right there," says Barnett.

Sources

http://www.wcyb.com/news/Flooded-road-strands-residents/-/14590844/...

http://www.tricities.com/news/local/article_533a9926-62ad-11e2-a49a...

http://www.wafb.com/story/20636420/new-bubbling-site-spotted-near-b...

http://www.wafb.com/story/20636420/new-bubbling-site-spotted-near-b...

New bubbling site spotted near Bayou Corne sinkhole

ASSUMPTION PARISH, LA (WAFB) -

Assumption Parish officials said the most recent bubbling site near the Bayou Corne sinkhole is the biggest pool they have seen yet. Office of Emergency Preparedness workers refer to it as the "mother of all bubbles."

The new bubbling site is an estimated 3,000 feet away from residences and camps.

Nick Romero, a homeowner, has seen bubbling in his yard.

"It's a little scary because now I know it's all around me," Romero said.

He knew it was only a matter of time before the evidence would surface after gas was detected on his property.

"It's (the geo probe) identified there's a gas zone down below my property here and it's near 25 to 35 foot down," Romero said.

Romero's only comfort is the air monitor attached to the outside of his work shed and the gas monitors inside.

The parish has been reading the monitors and double checking Texas Brine's work.

Homeowner, Mike Schaff, said he has lost faith in Texas Brine.

"They were saying there were no detectable levels of hydrocarbons when they were doing the testing. They said that for several weeks until the sinkhole collapsed and then they changed their tune. In a few weeks they said it was thermogenic," Schaff said.

Residents said they are sure anyone is going to fix the problem. Some are convinced Mother Nature has already taken over. They want the state to step up.

"I'm not so much worried about the governor coming down here and having a handshaking session. I'd like to see them put a little more pressure on them to get them to move to get the residents who want to be bought out, get us out of here. How long can you keep a community in an evacuated situation," Romero said.

Texas Brine has installed vent wells to flare the gas. But residents fear they won't work fast enough to keep the pressure from building in the bayou.

"Honestly I don't think they know the problem," Schaff said.

Sonny Cranch, a spokesman for Texas Brine said the company has obtained right-of-way agreements to start building a road which will allow them to install at least three more vent wells between Bayou Corne and the sinkhole.

That process is expected to start this week.

(Dec.19) Poland: Around 1 a.m. local time, a 33-ft. sinkhole in the town of Ostrowiec, swallowed three rows of garages and 20 cars and damaged water and sewer lines.
http://forsal.pl/galerie/669840,duze-zdjecie,1,gigantyczna_dziura_w...

Sinkhole Causes Massive Landslide in Quarry Near Montreal (Jan 29)

Two workers were missing and another was rescued after a sink-hole-caused landslide swallowed up two trucks and a loading vehicle at a Montreal-area quarry on Tuesday.

The ground gave way around 10:45 a.m. at the Maskimo quarry in l'Epiphanie, Que., about 45 minutes northeast of Montreal.

Rescuers searched for a man and a woman believed to have been buried in tonnes of earth and rock that had slid into the 200- by 400-metre opening.

A third worker was seen at the bottom of the quarry, covered in dust, walking around in apparent shock.
He spoke with rescuers on his cellphone for several minutes before a rescuer rappelled into the sinkhole.

He gave the man a jacket, tied him to a line and the helicopter extracted both men from the area.

Meanwhile, a plume of smoke could be seen rising from a vehicle that was on its side, buried in debris.
Paramedics and police officers arrived on scene around 11 a.m. but were unable to descend into the hole. Debris could be seen tumbling into the opening.

Three rescuers, armed with shovels, eventually rappelled into the quarry and dug through the earth.
"It was impossible to lower a vehicle (in)," said provincial police spokesman Benoit Richard. "No access was possible and not by foot because the earth was unstable."

Authorities say the ground at the bottom of the quarry is "a type of quicksand" and the tethered rescuers struggled to keep their footing.

Firefighters used a heat-sensing camera to try and find the victims. A police dog and a large crane were also brought to the scene.

Sources

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2013/01/201301...

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/search-suspended-for-2-workers-missing...

Sink hole sucks in shops as horrified evacuees watch in China's southern Guangdong province

SINKHOLE SWALLOWS ENTIRE BUILDING COMPLEX

Three buildings have collapsed into a sinkhole in southern China cutting off power and water pipes to surrounding properties.

Construction workers digging an underground rail tunnel were lucky to avoid injury after a sink hole swallowed two buildings in southern China.

The collapse, in central Guangzhou, the capital of Guandong province, happened late on Monday afternoon after rail workers noticed nearby land was sinking.

The workers raised the alarm and evacuated 300 people who then watched as the first building fell into the hole. A second building toppled in some time later. It is believed the complex contained shops.

There she goes .... The sink hole swallows an entire building complex in Guangdong province, China. Photo: ITN screengrab

The Shanghaiist website reported that "deafening noises" could be heard as the ground continued to sink and crack.

No one was injured and crews working to fix the hole - about 10 metres deep and spanning about 100 square metres, filled it with concrete - Xinhua news agency reported.

Last August, a freeway in Heilongjang province, in north-east China, collapsed just 10 months after it was constructed - the sixth major bridge collapse since July 2011.

Collateral damage ... A three-storey building next door also collapses into the giant hole as bystanders watch. Photo: ITN screengrab

A month later, 19 people were killed when an elevator crashed 30 floors down a building site in central Hubei province.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/photos-harrisburg-pa-plaug...

Donald Gilliland/ The Patriot-Ne

A "super sinkhole" at Fourth and Woodbine Streets in Harrisburg, Pa., last month. There are around 41 such sinkholes in the city, but the local government is too broke to fix them.

Pennsylvania's state capital is suffering from a rash of monster sinkholes, but city officials are too broke to do anything about it.

Loose soil and leaky, century-old underground water pipes are to blame for the municipal nightmare, which came to a head on the New Year's Eve when a 50-foot sinkhole yawned open along Fourth Street, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Joe Hermitt/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Crews working in a trench on North Front Street. The sinkhole collapsed around New Year's, resulting in the loss of water, gas and sewer services.

The eight-foot deep crater -- one of at least 41 in the city -- is so large, locals made it a "check-in" site on the social media site Four Square.

Some cheeky residents and the media nicknamed the hole "Super Sinkhole Walter." 

Via Google Maps

A map of sinkhole locations around Harrisburg.

Massive sinkhole swallows up farm in Sichuan

By Michael Evans

Frozen rice fields in Sichuan province were swallowed up by a massive sinkhole Tuesday, with farmland collapsing into a pit ten metres across in the province’s Weiyuan county.

The cave-in occurred around 7pm on February 5, with an explosive sound heard by villagers 100 metres away, which some compared to the sound of firecrackers.

No one was reported to have been killed or injured, according to China News Service, but villagers will have to deal with the gaping holes in the middle of their land, while authorities monitor the area for further geologic instability.

Source

Queensland Australia Sinkhole Swallows Marina Building (Feb 19)

A 20-metre sinkhole opened on the banks of the Burnett River, swallowing part of the Midtown Marina in the central Queensland.

''The way it's happened is very frightening actually to see it collapse so quickly in such a large area,'' Mayor Mal Forman said.

''But I think if you look down there, there's more area that can fall away as well.''

Authorities are considering evacuating up to 10 businesses at risk.

Midtown Marina owner Jan Douglas said she came into work early because "a woman's intuition" told her something was going to happen.

When she arrived, she found the back half of her business was being held up by only a gate and, a few minutes later, it collapsed into the ground.

"It's a two-storey building, so it shows you how big that sink hole is."

Authorities fear more buildings could topple into a sinkhole that has swallowed a two-storey building in the flood-ravaged Queensland city of Bundaberg.

Mayor Mal Forman says about 10 businesses, including a multi-level hotel, are at risk along the Burnett River.

Sources

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/8323473/Rain-sparks-new-floo...

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/more-wild-weathe...

Sinkhole on major NJ highway damages 18 cars

WOODBRIDGE, N.J. (AP) — A sinkhole on a major New Jersey highway has blown tires on 18 vehicles.

The sinkhole was discovered around 6 a.m. Thursday in the right lane of the Garden State Parkway southbound in Woodbridge.

Two lanes had been closed while a temporary fix was made, causing a backup. They were reopened around 4:45 p.m. Thursday.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority oversees the parkway. Turnpike authority spokesman Tom Feeney says engineers are trying to figure out the cause. He says possibilities include failure of a nearby culvert or collapsed drainpipes under the road.

Feeney says a permanent fix will be made with work at night and on weekends.

http://news.yahoo.com/sinkhole-major-nj-highway-damages-18-cars-220...

Sheep eaten by sinkhole in Croatia

19.01.2013

Shepherd, whose sheep gone there, told him that her country withdrew. "Also that the man I was walking he could fall in the hole, who would have found him and knew where he was," wrote a reader.

He adds that "the opening hole one meter, the width of four, and the depth of about six meters with an extension into the abyss."

"When the sheep perished, nor heard nor seen," she told us his daughter in a telephone interview.

bit.ly/XtFlAs

Man Swallowed Alive By Sinkhole Under his Bedroom

60ft-deep crater that claimed Jeff Bush’s life after sucking him out of his bedroom into the ground.

Source

In a matter of seconds, the earth opened under Jeff Bush's bedroom and swallowed him up like something out of a horror movie. About the only thing left was the TV cable running down into the hole.

Bush, 37, was presumed dead Friday, the victim of a sinkhole -- a hazard so common recently in Florida that state law requires home insurers to provide coverage against the danger.

The sinkhole, estimated at 20 feet across and 20 feet deep, caused the home's concrete floor to cave in around 11 p.m. Thursday as everyone in the Tampa-area house was turning in for the night. It gave way with a loud crash that sounded like a car hitting the house and brought Bush's brother running.

Jeremy Bush said he jumped into the hole but couldn't see his brother and had to be rescued himself by a sheriff's deputy who reached out and pulled him to safety as the ground crumbled around him.

"The floor was still giving in and the dirt was still going down, but I didn't care. I wanted to save my brother," Jeremy Bush said through tears Friday in a neighbor's yard. "But I just couldn't do nothing."

He added: "I could swear I heard him hollering my name to help him."

Officials lowered equipment into the sinkhole and saw no signs of life, said Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokeswoman Jessica Damico.

A dresser and the TV set had vanished down the hole, along with most of Bush's bed.

"All I could see was the cable wire running from the TV going down into the hole. I saw a corner of the bed and a corner of the box spring and the frame of the bed," Jeremy Bush said.

At a news conference Friday night, county administrator Mike Merrill described the home as "seriously unstable." He said no one can go in the home because officials were afraid of another collapse and losing more lives. The soil around the home was very soft and the sinkhole was expected to grow.

Engineers said they may have to demolish the small, sky-blue house, even though from the outside there appeared to be nothing wrong with the four-bedroom, concrete-wall structure, built in 1974.

"I cannot tell you why it has not collapsed yet," said Bill Bracken, the owner of engineering company called on to assess the sinkhole and home.

Engineers said there was an initial collapse followed by another one a short time later. The hole was 15 feet deep but grew to about 25 feet deep, and it was about 20 feet to 30 feet across.

More than 500 sinkholes have been reported in Hillsborough County alone since the government started keeping track in 1954, according to the state's environmental agency.

Jeremy Bush said someone came out to the home a couple of months ago to check for sinkholes and other things, apparently for insurance purposes.

"He said there was nothing wrong with the house. Nothing. And a couple of months later, my brother dies. In a sinkhole," Bush said.

Six people were at the home at the time, including Jeremy Bush's wife and his 2-year-old daughter. The brothers worked maintenance jobs, including picking up trash along highways.

http://wtop.com/209/3237289/Man-swallowed-by-sinkhole-under-house

(CNN) -- A 36-year-old man disappeared Thursday night after a sinkhole opened up underneath his bedroom in Florida, authorities said.

Right after the ground started to give way in his home in Brandon, the man's brother frantically tried to keep him from sinking into the hole, an emergency official said.

The first deputy on the scene pulled the victim's brother from the edge of the growing sinkhole, said Jessica Damico, a spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.

Authorities have not been able to contact the man as the sinkhole continued to expand. The house was deemed unsafe for rescuers to search for him, Damico said.

Late Thursday night, the hole was about 30 feet wide and 15 feet deep and still growing, authorities said.

Area homes have been evacuated.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/01/justice/florida-sinkhole/     

Sinkhole Found at Largo Mall

A sinkhole was discovered Friday in the Largo Mall parking lot, less than 24 hours after a sinkhole swallowed a man in his Hillsborough County bedroom, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The sinkhole was about 10 feet long and several feet wide, the newspaper reported, citing Largo Fire Chief Mike Wallace. No one was injured or fell in, and the hole was barricaded, according to the Times.

Thursday night, 36-year-old Jeffrey Bush fell into a sinkhole that opened up beneath his Seffner home as he slept, Brandon Patch reports. He had still not been found Saturday morning.

http://largo.patch.com/articles/sinkhole-found-at-largo-mall

http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/con...

A sinkhole has been confirmed at 1204 Cedar Tree Lane, at 240 Faithway Drive.

The sinkhole is reportedly in the backyard.

The sinkhole was found underneath a fence between two homes.

Hillsborough County Code Enforcement responded to the scene. County officials say right now the hole doesn't appear to be big enough to threaten any homes, but some residents aren't taking any chances.

Officials estimate at this point it's about 12 feet around and 5 feet deep.
 
"It was reported as a sinkhole. I looked at it and it looked like a depression to me but it was reported as a sinkhole,” said Willie Puz, spokesperson with Hillsborough County.

Some people who live in the neighborhood are terrified, considering what happened just down the street.

"We're not going to stay in the house anymore,” said Katia Vargas, a neighbor. “My mom and my whole entire family (are) scared to live in it because of what happened to my neighbor. We have sinkholes, so we're just going to stay in a hotel for now and see what we can do."

Ana Maria Serna owns one of the houses where the hole has formed. She was renting it out and no one has lived in it for about a year. She said when she bought it in 2003, there was a small hole in the backyard but she didn't think too much about it.

"Only my neighbor who said "be careful" because in the backyard there was a hole but as for the person who made the inspection they said "everything is good, everything is good,” Serna said.

People are living in the other house that's affected but they declined to comment.

Neighbors are worried because of the sinkhole just two miles away that swallowed Jeffrey Bush, but county officials said the two are not directly related.

Odd co-ordination in the press today as both the Washington Post and the Guardian do special pieces on sinkholes:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/sinkholes-in-history-guatema...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/04/what-causes-sinkholes-f...

Pennsylvania Family Evacuated After Giant Sinkhole Forms Behind Home (Mar 10)

A sinkhole measuring 25 to 30 feet wide and 10 to 12 feet deep opened up a Bethlehem Township backyard forcing the evacuation of residents at 1502 Second Street.

Doris Jenkins was awakened during the night by a loud bang and one of her three dogs scratching at the door for a walk.

“I didn’t see anything at first because it was dark,” Jenkins said. “But when I went around the corner, I saw it caved in. I told my daughter get the car off the driveway because the car would have went too."

The house sustained structural damage in the back and has been deemed uninhabitable by Bethlehem Township Fire Marshal Stephen Gallagher. Township Manager Howard Kutzler said an engineer from GAI Engineers would be assessing the sinkhole.

The area has been barricaded and an “unauthorized entry” sign has been posted on Jenkins’ front door. Jenkins is residing with family while her daughter, Ingeborg, and granddaughter, are staying at a hotel.

Source

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2013/03/giant_s...

Another China sinkhole at 28 feb

http://www.voc.com.cn/article/201302/201302281508539424.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2292176/Mark-Mihal-sinkhole...

Get in the hole! Astonishing moment a 15ft sinkhole swallowed a GOLFER as he walked along the fairway of course in St Louis

• Mark Mihal was with friends at the Annbriar Golf Course near Waterloo when he suddenly disappeared into the turf on the fairway of the 14th hole
• He landed on a pile of mud in the cavernous space that could have fit up to 10 people and looked like it was about to sink further
  
• Mortgage banker was hoisted out of the cave by his friends who climbed down a ladder to tie a rope around his waist
• Suffered a dislocated shoulder and has vowed not to return to the course
  

By Helen Pow

PUBLISHED: 15:54 GMT, 12 March 2013 | UPDATED: 20:09 GMT, 12 March 2013

A Missouri father was hoping for a hole-in-one when he set out for a day of golf on Friday - but he didn't think he'd end up the one in the hole.

St Louis mortgage banker and avid golfer Mark Mihal was with three friends at the Annbriar Golf Course near Waterloo when he suddenly disappeared into the turf on the fairway of the 14th hole.

The 43-year-old fell into a bell-shaped enclosure below the green that measured 15 feet deep and 10 feet wide, surprising his golf pals and the course management who said this was the first time anything like this had happened in Annbriar's 20-year history.

'I noticed this anomaly in the fairway and went to have a look but, by the time I took one step, I was gone, I was underground,' Mihal told MailOnline.

'When I went through (the opening) I couldn't see anything, I didn't know how far I was going or what I was going to hit.'

He said, after plummeting through the earth, he landed on a pile of mud in a cavernous space that could have fit up to 10 people.

'I was just lying on the side of the mound,' he said. 'There was some room in there, it was sort of like a room or a cave. It wasn't confining. It was very dark, though after a while my eyes got used to it. But I couldn't look up because there was stuff still falling.'

The rescue was precarious as no one knew whether the hole would expand, swallowing more people. The fact he dislocated his shoulder in the fall didn't help either.

'I knew the only way to get out was straight up and I didn't have the use of my left arm,' he said.

Sinkhole: The 43-year-old fell into a bell-shaped enclosure below the green that measured 15 feet deep and 10 feet wide, pictured

Friends: Mihal's friends, pictured, managed to hoist him out of the hole by tying a rope around his waist

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2292143/Teenager-jumps-pudd...

Teenager jumps into a puddle for a $1 bet... and ends up completely submerged in huge water-filled hole (but at least he got a dollar!)

• The teenager, named Lakeem, is egged on by friends as he goes for a splash
• But the puddle is a lot deeper than it appears on the surface
• His friends are heard in hysterics as soaked Lakeem climbs from the puddle
  

By Steve Nolan

PUBLISHED: 15:10 GMT, 12 March 2013 | UPDATED: 15:29 GMT, 12 March 2013

When Lakeem's friends dared him to jump in a puddle in his brand new training shoes, the worst he thought would happen was that his sparkling white and blue footwear would get a little dirty.

But he didn't bank on what seemed to be a couple of inches of surface water being quite so deep.

In an hilarious video clip on YouTube, the American teenager's attempts to entertain his friends backfire spectacularly as he ends up getting a soaking.

Leap of faith: Lakeem is egged on by his friends and promised a dollar if he jumps in the puddle in his new training shoes

Soaking: To everyone's surprise, Lakeem didn't make the light splash expected, and instead ends up completely submerged in the water

Amused: His friends, who are filming the stunt on their mobile phones, howl with laughter as their friend splashes around in the deep puddle

http://www.businessinsider.com/giant-sinkhole-that-just-opened-up-i...

Now There's A Sinkhole In Washington DC

There's a sinkhole that just opened up in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington D.C. The opening is small now, but could get bigger.

The hole is at the 1900 block of Biltmore Street NW, according to a tweet by the Official Twitter Account for the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Engagement & Community Relations. They first warned the sinkhole could be huge, tweeting earlier today:

MPD reports Sink hole in the 1900 block of Biltmore Street NW. The sink hole is described as 25 feet deep and expanding from east to west.

— EOMONE (@EOMONE1) March 12, 2013

Will Sommer of the Washington City Paper's City Desk has since reported that the hole is just four feet deep, and isn't expanding into the street.

D.C. residents received an alert that says "1900 block of biltmore street closed- please avoid," according to Gayatri Murthy. There are about four or five officers on the scene.

Initial reports of the hole being 25-feet deep are most likely inaccurate. If the cavern below the street had been large, it could have been a potential danger.

Here is an image:

Sinkhole opens up on SW Portland street

PORTLAND, Ore. -- City crews are repairing a large sinkhole in Southwest Portland.
  
The sinkhole is located on Southwest Green Avenue, near West Burnside.

City crews say that that it was caused by a leaking 100-year-old sewer line. A garbage truck reportedly opened up the hole by driving over the spot.    

City workers estimate it is approximately 30 feet wide and 15 feet deep. The area remains closed to traffic tonight.

No injuries were reported and no homes are affected.

Giant Sinkhole Swallows Truck in China (Mar 15)
A giant sinkhole opened up beneath a truck passing through Kunming, Yunnan province.

‘There was a rumbling sound and the ground started to rock. At first I thought it was an earthquake,’ he told police.

‘Then there was a loud crack and I started to fall backwards as my truck was dragged into the hole.

‘It was terrifying. I had no idea how deep it was or how far I’d fall,’ he added.

Source

http://metro.co.uk/2013/03/15/30ft-deep-and-20ft-wide-sinkhole-swal...

Sinkhole opens up on Lincoln Street in Bangor

BANGOR, Maine — A sinkhole big enough to swallow a Volkswagen opened up on Lincoln Street next to the Bangor Daily News parking lot on Sunday. The hole is about three feet deep and eight feet long. Orange cones had been placed around the hole to warn motorists. Bangor Public Works Foreman Matthew Oakes said he had not yet seen the sinkhole, but said it would likely be addressed first thing on Monday.

Source    

Another pond rapidly drained by a sinkhole.

"The giant pond that had once been in Mark Korb's yard in Newcastle California is now a gaping crater in the ground.

The manmade pond on his property fell into a sinkhole that sucked it up in a matter of hours on Sunday, March 17.

The speed at which the underground cavity devoured the pond was staggering.

Korb noted, by contrast, for instance, that when he drained the pond years ago with a pump the process took seven days."

Source

http://now.msn.com/california-sinkhole-swallows-pond-at-home-of-mar...

2.5 Acre Pond in Georgia Suddenly Drained By Sinkhole (Mar 4)

The mysteries of the deep end! Swimming pool pops out of the ground after heavy  rainfall on Georgia man's backyard

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2297703/The-mysteries-deep-...

 That looks to me like the land buckled, or dropped on one side, but the pool being rigid didn't bend.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/24/17441852-new-sinkhole-in...=

New sinkhole in same Fla. town where man was killed

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office

A new sinkhole has been found in Seffner between two houses.

By Brian Hamacher, NBCMiami.com

Just weeks after a sinkhole swallowed a Florida man, killing him in his sleep in his Seffner home, another sinkhole has opened between two houses in the same town.

The latest sinkhole appeared in the  1400 block of Lake Shore Ranch Drive around 7 p.m. Saturday. It's  estimated to be about 8 feet in diameter and 10 feet deep, according to WFLA.

Both homes on either side of the hole were evacuated as a precaution.

Seffner is the town where 37-year-old  Jeff Bush was swallowed by a sinkhole that completely demolished his  bedroom three weeks ago. Five others who were in the house escaped  unharmed.

That sinkhole was estimated to be 20 feet wide and 20 feet deep. The house was later demolished.

Sinkhole blocks off intersection at Roderick and Gordon sts

ANOTHER sinkhole has appeared under a road in the Ipswich CBD.

The intersection of Roderick and Gordon sts was blocked off after the sinkhole appeared about midday.

It appeared after a truck carrying a crane went over the intersection before a passing ambulance crew noticed the hole.

The hole is only about 40cm wide at the top but opens significantly under the road surface.

Ipswich has been beset by a series of sinkholes in recent years with the worst at the intersection of Brisbane and East sts causing a whole lot of trouble in March 2009.

Source

Landslides on Britain’s cliffs and hillsides are occurring at record rates, geologists have warned.

Official figures have revealed that almost three times the average nmber of rockfalls and landslips have been reported in the past year.

Experts say the rise in incidents, which have damaged roads, property and even cost lives.

Geologists have warned that they are expecting more large slides over the coming months.

In some cases large cracks have appeared along stretches of coastline as rock and earth has sheered away from the land.

Two weeks ago a woman was found dead in a house in Looe, Cornwall, after it collapsed in a landslide.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/9962971/Landslide-risk-a...

Sinkhole forces family from Ruskin home

By Tribune staff |
Published: April 4, 2013

- A sinkhole found Thursday night at a Ruskin home has forced a family with children to evacuate to a friend’s home, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue said.


The sinkhole measuring 7 feet long and 2 feet wide was located in the backyard about 10 feet from the home, 1303 3rd Ave. N.E. The depth of the sinkhole wasn’t known because it was too dark to measure for safety reasons, said Nacole Revette, a fire rescue spokeswoman.


County officials were notified at 9:30 p.m. Firefighters arrived at the scene along with Hillsborough County Code Enforcement, which roped off the backyard and said it would revisit the sinkhole this morning, Revette said.

 
http://tbo.com/news/sinkhole-forces-family-from-ruskin-home-b824741... 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2306085/The-Russian-city-ea...

The Russian city being 'eaten alive': Cars, buses, and trucks disappear beneath the earth as they are swallowed by giant sinkholes

• Citizens of Samara live in daily fear of the ground disappearing beneath them
• Dozens of holes have sprung up across the city in recent weeks
• The sinkholes have left a trail of devastation and reportedly claimed one life
  

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 02:25 GMT, 9 April 2013 | UPDATED: 02:41 GMT, 9 April 2013

They may look like stills from an apocalyptic horror film, but these images have become a daily reality for residents in a Russian city.

Citizens of Samara, in south east Russia, live in fear of the ground literally disappearing beneath them after huge sinkholes have started to appear all over their city, leaving devastation in their wake.

The yawning underground caverns are all believed to have sprung up in recent weeks swallowing cars, buses and claiming at least one life.

The massive craters have appeared in car parks, busy intersections, by the sides of roads, and on major and minor thoroughfares.

It is believed at least one person has lost their life as a result of one of the crashes caused by the sinkholes.

Citizens in Berezniki, Russia, have also been plagued by sinkholes.

The city of Samara in Russia appears to be sinking into the earth, as massive sinkholes open up swallowing cars and wreaking havoc.

There has reportedly been at least one fatality as a result of the sinkholes in the city, Russia's sixth largest.

 

The gaping craters have baffled residents who now live in daily fear of the ground literally swallowing them.

Dozens of the massive craters, have appeared at random in recent weeks.

These pictures are all believed to have been taken in recent weeks as the ground decays beneath the city's infrastructure

The problem is thought to be causing carnage across the city. Now residents have organised a petition to urge authorities to find a solution.

Gigantic Sinkhole Appears in Portugal (Apr 9)
A 100-metre deep sink hole and measures 15 meters across appeared near Marvão in Upper Alentejo on Tuesday evening.

Source

Giant Sinkhole Swallows Homes in Russia (Apr 10)

A sinkhole measuring nearly 85 meters wide and 15 meters deep engulfed three houses in a town outside Russia’s fifth-largest city Nizhny Novgorod as some residents of the small village were slumbering.

One of the houses in the town of Buturlino was completely demolshed. Residents managed to escape the building a few minutes before it literally collapsed like a house of cards on Wednesday night.

“I just barely left the house as everything around started to collapse,” Aleksey Ionychev told Russia’s Channel One.

“I looked and saw a poplar, 15 to 20 meters high, went under the ground and straight away I heard loud sounds of water running, like a waterfall, and then saw a 10 meters crater,” the man said. “It’s good that we are alive, but the house was new and everything we had, so to say, we lost. The house was not insured and of course no one cares about it.”  

Initial reports suggested people were injured in the incident. However, it was later confirmed that no one sustained traumatic harm. “Information about dead and injured that appeared in media is not true,”  the head of the local administration Nikolay Chichkov told Rossyiskaya Gazeta.

Thirty-three residents of nearby areas have been immediately evacuated. There were no people in one of the collapsed buildings, while the third damaged building was used for grain storage.

According to Chichkov, the sinkhole not only demolished the three buildings, but also caused ruptures in electricity and gas utility lines. By the afternoon, gas utilities and power had been restored. The sinkhole remains cordoned off by emergency services.

Source

http://rt.com/news/giant-sinkhole-buildings-russia-633/

Wisconsin Man Swallowed by Sinkhole (Apr 9)
MANITOWOC - Rescue personnel responded to a report of a man, later identified as John Strauss, in a sinkhole 1514 N. Rapids Road just after 4 p.m. Tuesday, according to a scanner report.

A female caller stated she tried reaching the man with a ladder but was unable to do so, the dispatcher said.

When responders arrived, the man was lying on his back in a 10-foot deep hole, but was conscious.

The hole, approximately 3-feet in diameter, was not there this morning according to Strauss' wife, Bonnie. "He seems to be OK; they're checking him over to see if he's OK," she said.

Officials said extra equipment will be needed to extract the man because of the soft, wet ground, according to the scanner.

The man was retrieved from the hole shorty after personnel arrived, reports indicated.

Source

http://www.htrnews.com/article/20130410/MAN0101/130410059/Rescuers-...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2013/04/12/quebec-city...

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/12/quebec-city-sinkhole_n_3069...

Sinkhole In Quebec City Forces Evacuation

People who live in and near two Quebec City buildings evacuated Thursday after a sinkhole appeared in a nearby parking lot say they've noticed problems with the ground in their neighbourhood for years.

More than 30 people were forced out of their apartments in the Beauport area after a two-metre-wide sinkhole opened up in a rear parking lot on Brideau Street earlier this week.

The Red Cross was on hand to help residents relocate temporarily.

Network of underground caves

The buildings affected are located in an area known as the "Courville Caves," where there is a known network of natural underground caves caused by the flow of the Montmorency River. Unstable ground has been a problem in the past.

A resident spotted the hole Wednesday and alerted the authorities.

"I called the city. I thought it was unusual," Mickaël Poulin-Giguère told Radio-Canada.

Two weeks earlier, Poulin-Giguère said he alerted the city after he became increasingly concerned about widening cracks that started to appear on walls and doorways of his building.

"The doors hardly open, and there are cracks in the walls and Gyproc," he said.

Another resident said she was frightened by the shaking she felt in her building on Sunday and Monday.

André Robitaille, who owns the building next door to the two that were evacuated, said he is constantly patching up cracks in the walls and foundation.

"We repair them all the time, because we assume that one day it is going to stop," Robitaille said. Six years ago, Robitaille invested over $100,000 to fill holes under his building's foundations with concrete.

"They were as big as — you can probably put a small car in it," he said.

Robitaille says he has called city officials more than once to tell them there is a problem with the ground.

City engineers were on site Friday to inspect the sinkhole. Robitaille said he's disappointed it took the sinkhole's appearance to get them to act.

The city did not expect to do any rehabilitation work over the weekend. Meanwhile, the stranded residents were to meet Friday evening to decide their next move.

Sinkhole swallows 3 cars on Southeast Side

A sinkhole swallowed three cars in the 9600 block of South Houston Avenue in the South Deering neighborhood. ( April 18, 2013)

A sinkhole swallowed three cars in the South Deering neighborhood on the Southeast Side early Thursday morning.

One person was taken from the hole, at 9600 South Houston Avenue, to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious-to-critical condition, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

The fire department responded to the scene around 5:30 a.m. when two cars were inside the hole. A third one slide into it after crews arrived.

Source

Roadway Sinkhole Swallows 2 Cars in Vermont (Apr 20)

A Vermont family are lucky to be alive after a massive sinkhole opened up in the middle of a mountain road swallowing their two cars.

Their two vehicles fell 5 feet straight down, but the Richardsons managed to climb out to safety just before the ground gave way and their cars sank another 20 feet.

Once the parents and their son were back on solid ground, water, rocks and dirt showered down on their stranded vehicles and the sinkhole deepened.

The woman did not see the washout because it was dark and raining at the time, and drove into the abyss that opened in the middle of the roadway.

Her husband also did not see the chasm and followed his wife, but the quick-thinking motorist managed to turn the wheel just in time so his car would not land on top of his wife's, which likely ended up saving the lives of Angel and Alex Richardson.

Family friend Ryan Sargent saw the Richardsons later in the day and said they escaped with little more than some bumps, bruises and a broken arm.

Source

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2313875/Familys-lucky-escap...

http://fox13now.com/2013/04/27/sinkhole-closes-roads-may-disrupt-wa...

TAYLORSVILLE, Utah — A sinkhole that opened in a road in Taylorsville could cause water service disruptions in the area, and it will close nearby roads until at least Monday.

The sinkhole opened near 5400 South and 3200 West after an old metal pipe connecting drainage lines under the road collapsed.

The hole is about 6 feet wide on the surface, but under the asphalt it’s about 20 feet deep.

All northbound and southbound lanes on 3200 West and 5400 South in the area will be closed until at least Monday. Residents can expect disruptions to their water service as crews work to repair pipes and refill the sinkhole.

Taylorsville City Spokeswoman Aimee Newton said they are working to solve the problem as quickly as possible.

“Taylorsville city officials are doing everything they can to assist UDOT in taking care of this,” she said. “We have our emergency personnel out here to make sure that the traffic flow isn’t hampered too greatly, and [they’re] doing a great job on trying to keep things moving.”

26.04.13. Sinkhole depth of 30 meters and 4500 sq m opened on mine of Ezhou, Hubei, China

www.huaxiazhisheng.com%2F2013%2Fbgzx_0426%2F3127.html 

Road Collapses in Greene County, Mississippi (May 2)

(Courtesy of bill)

Stringfellow Road is disappearing and county officials aren't sure what's causing the collapse.

It's the second time in less than a year that the road has collapsed.

Greene County District 4 Supervisor Wayne Borrow and Emergency Management Director Trent Robertson are working with other agencies to pinpoint the source of the problem. until they get some answers, the entire road is closed.

Source

http://www.wlox.com/story/22156296/rain-causes-road-collapse-in-gre...

http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/con...

Sinkholes are causing a big headache for Hernando County leaders (Florida)

A report Hernando County’s property appraiser put together for county commissioners is full of some sobering information about sinkholes.

HERNANDO COUNTY -- 

Sinkholes are causing a big headache for Hernando County homeowners and officials.

A report Hernando County’s property appraiser put together for county commissioners is full of some sobering information about sinkholes.

County leaders like it when sinkhole damage to a home is fixed, but according to the property appraiser, many damaged homes are not getting fixed. That’s costing the county a lot of tax money because the values of the houses are cut in half.

Commissioner Dave Russell says it comes out to about $1 million of tax revenue lost a year.

“Everything is on the table at this time," Russell said. "We can’t just throw our hands up, roll over and except what’s happening. We need action.”

A few ideas are being tossed around like contacting FEMA to see if some relief is available, checking in with other counties to see how they’re dealing with the problem and sending letters to homeowners.

County leaders say they are going to keep things legal but they need to do something to fix the problem.

According to Hernando’s property appraiser there are 6,106 homes in the county with confirmed sinkhole activity. Only 2,726 have been fixed.