Oklahoma Street Collapses, Swallows Car (Sept 5)

A massive sinkhole has opened up in downtown Oklahoma City and has swallowed a car.

The sinkhole opened up just after 3:30 Thursday afternoon near 2nd and Villa.

The car was heading north on the inside lane of Villa when the road opened up and the car dropped. Three people were in the car when the sinkhole opened up but they were all uninjured. The three people were able to climb out of a back window.

Sources

http://www.okcfox.com/story/23352843/sinkhole-opens-in-downtown-okl...

http://kfor.com/2013/09/05/okc-street-collapses-large-sinkhole-forms/

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/car-falls-in-hole-aft...

INDIANAPOLIS - A Jeep fell into a large hole when the road collapsed beneath it Monday morning after an apparent water main break on the city's east side, officials said.

Emergency crews were able to pull the Jeep from the hole, which opened up near English and Mitchner avenues.

The driver, 25-year-old James Moore, was not seriously injured but he was taken to Methodist Hospital as a precaution.

English Avenue was closed in both directions between Franklin Road and Woods Crossing Drive as Department of Public Works and Citizens Energy crews worked to fix the hole.

Citizens Energy spokeswoman Jennifer Mentnink said about 65 homes were left without water following the main break and that repairs would take at least 6 to 8 hours.

Giant Sinkhole Swallows Crane in Southern China (Sept 11)
A huge mobile crane almost disappeared without trace when a giant sinkhole opened underneath it in Southern China.

The 29-tonne truck was driving down a road in Dongguan, Guangdong province, when the pit suddenly opened up, and the crane crashed through into the ground below.

A shocked motorist described how "one second the truck was driving along, the next it was under the ground",

Source

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/pictured-giant-sinkhole-swa...

Some notable U.S. sinkholes on September 13.

New Mexico 

http://www.kasa.com/news/krqe-news/sinkhole-closes-i-40-eb-wb-lane-...

Detroit, Michigan 

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/23429779/woman-70-drives-car-into...

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

http://www.okcfox.com/story/23424658/rain-opens-up-sinkhole-in-okla...

http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/Huge-Sinkhole-Opens-Up-Outside-C...

Sinkhole outside of a home on the 2700 block of Flintridge.

"A gentlemen knocked on my door today and said he wanted to inform me that my driveway was missing."

When a Colorado Springs homeowner went to look for herself Sunday night, she said she was stunned to find that her neighbor was indeed right--much of her driveway had been swallowed up. What was left was a gaping hole more than 25 feet deep.

The driveway, located on the 2700 block of Flintridge, likely gave way after days of intense rainfall in much of the state. Though it took much of her driveway, the homeowner says her house was not damaged.

"I'm safe, my house was fine...it just happens to be right there, but no one was hurt," she told 11 News.

Road crews have worked through the night, using heavy equipment to help secure the sinkhole, and carving away loose dirt and asphalt. Equipment is now on its way from Denver, which crews will use to shore up the sides of the hole before filling it in.

Repairs are expected to take up most of the day. While road crews work, the area has been blocked off to keep cars from driving right into the gaping hole. Some gas lines in the area also had to be shut off during the repair work.

The Flintridge sinkhole wasn't the only one to form in Colorado Springs Sunday; another one also formed in front of Martinez Elementary School at Vickers and Rangewood. That one was also reportedly caused by heavy flooding.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/10-foot-deep-kitch...

Crews work in a large sinkhole that formed on Sunday afternoon when a 12-inch water main broke at the intersection of Mill and Heiman streets in Kitchener. (Jane van Koeverden/CBC)

Smart Car Swallowed By Sinkhole in Florida (Sept 17)
A woman's quick thinking helped her escape from her sinking smart car, just seconds before it fully submerged underground.

Madaline Keeble said she drove through what looked like a water main break and didn't realize how saturated the ground was underneath it.

"I saw some water on the road and I saw the security officer in his car at the corner, and I made my turn and 20 seconds later I had water in my smart car up to my ears," said Keeble.

She said her little smart car quickly filled up with water and that's when she grabbed her belongings and fled.

The road where it happened was blocked off as the property management company investigated.

Sources

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/womans-smart-car-swallowed-wate...

http://www.ktnv.com/news/watercooler/Florida-sinkhole-swallows-smar...

Marine falls to death in sinkhole while deer hunting

(KTVI) -A young Marine based at Fort Leonard Wood in mid-Missouri was killed in what authorities call a “bizarre” accident.  It happened at dusk Monday north of Buckhorn, MO.

Pulaski County Sheriff Ron Long said 31-year old Cortis Powelson fell into a sink hole as deep as a tall tree while returning home from deer hunting.

The county’s deputy coroner Michael McCart repelled into the hole to reach the body.  He said it was sixty to seventy feet deep and only about the size of a car at the top.

Thirty to forty  first responders from several agencies began looking for the young man when he failed to return  home after telling his wife he was tracking a deer he had shot with a bow.  The sink hole was only several hundred yards from his backyard, but hidden by dense woods and briars.

“We had several firefighters and deputies that almost stepped into it themselves in the dark just out there looking for him last night,” McCart added.  They used a grid search system and lights.  The body was found at 3am Tuesday, but it took another three hours to retrieve it from the deep sink hole.

Source

Will the Dead Sea be eaten by sinkholes? Huge chasms are appearing in the region at a rate of one per DAY

The Dead Sea is drying up at a rate of one meter per year causing sinkholes

There are now over 3,000 sinkholes around the Dead Sea on the Israeli side 

This compares to 40 in 1990, with the first sinkhole appearing in the 1980s

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2424549/Will-Dead-Se...

The Dead Sea is drying up at an incredible rate leaving huge chasms of empty space in its wake.

These chasms appear in the form of large, devastating sinkholes and are increasing in number throughout the region.

Experts claim they are now forming at a rate of nearly one a day, but have no way of knowing when or how they will show up.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The article goes on to blame the sinkholes on the fact that the Dead Sea is drying up, when the opposite is obviously the case.

Sinkholes don't appear because the ground dries up, they appear because the structure under the surface is compromised by being in the stretch zone and the water drains away!!!

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/moment/2013/09/the_...

19.09.13. Deep sinkhole depth of 20 meters in Sierra Grande, Argentina

http://pidolapalabrasg.com.ar/?p=2735

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&a...

Sinkhole in Council Bluffs snarls I-80 traffic

Posted: Thursday, October 10, 2013 12:00 pm

By EMERSON CLARRIDGE and ANDREW J. NELSON World-Herald News Service

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa ¯ A major stretch of a metro area’s road system is out of service for much of today,after a sinkhole opened up under Interstate 80 in Council Bluffs and portions of the eastbound lanes collapsed.

No one was injured and no crashes were reported after the lanes fell in about 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, according to Bluffs police.

The Iowa Department of Transportation said the eastbound lanes between the Missouri River and the South Expressway exit in Council Bluffs will be closed through late afternoon as repairs are made.

The section of freeway where the sinkhole opened is also part of Interstate 29. The collapse will also affect motorists traveling to Glenwood, Kansas City and other points south.

Construction workers were digging under the Interstate to install a pipe when portions of the three eastbound lanes collapsed, creating an 8- to 10-foot-wide sinkhole that was 2 to 3 feet deep, police said. One of the workers called 911 to report the incident.

The collapse took place just east of the 24th Street exit.

Authorities turned around dozens of semitrailers and other vehicles near the site of the collapse, directing them onto the entrance ramp and then onto 24th Street. Cars and trucks backed up for several blocks at the intersection with Veterans Memorial Highway, as a long line of traffic waited to turn east.

http://www.starherald.com/news/regional_statewide/sinkhole-in-counc... 

I-85 SB lanes closed for sinkhole repairs through Wednesday

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. —

The Georgia Department Of Transportation told Channel 2 Action News that the pavement collapse on Interstate 85 Monday that shut down two lanes of I-85 south has not happened in years on major metro Atlanta highways.               

"It's been a very rare thing. I've been with the DOT for 14 years and I don't recall seeing one on the interstate collapse like this. So it's pretty rare that it happens," said DOT spokesman Mark McKinnon. 

A broken water pipe and drain structure, along with heavy rain, washed away gravel under the road, causing the pavement to sink in the HOV lane on southbound I-85 north of Clairmont Road. 

A DOT contracting crew closed two lanes and has repaired the water main and drain structure. Repaving will begin Wednesday morning and it's expected the lanes will reopen in the early afternoon. 

DOT officials are advising motorists to use alternate routes. Some drivers told Channel 2's Tom Regan that they are already doing that. 

"I already take the back roads, so for now, I'm definitely not taking the interstate,” said driver Nayana Nair.  

A driver alerted authorities to the sinking pavement. Officials said they have no reports of vehicle damage related to the road collapse.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/i-85-sb-lanes-closed-sinkhole-...    

09.10.13. Giant sinkhole 15 hectares in Dongbao, Jingmen, Hubei, China
http://news.21cn.com/domestic/difang/a/2013/1009/17/24380142.shtml

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&a...

Sinkhole 'swallows' house, 4 dead

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/10/27/13/sinkhole-swallow...

100 sinkholes found in Bohol after quake - Nov 2

Close to 100 sinkholes have been discovered in nine towns and one city in Bohol after the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that shook the province on Oct. 15.

Environment officials said not all of the sinkholes posed dangers to the public as long as no houses were built over them.

In Poblacion Uno village in the capital Tagbilaran City, however, 200 families were asked to leave their homes, as the structures were built on the roof of a sinkhole.

A sinkhole is a vacuum or cavern beneath the ground or topsoil waiting for an occurrence (earthquake or heavy rain) to rupture.

Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto said a team from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) was assessing the sinkholes to determine which ones posed a threat to the public.

The eight-member team is using a ground-penetrating radar to map the island for sinkholes.

Chatto said the mapping would be completed by the first quarter of 2014 and then the team would decide whether there was need for engineering intervention.

“Don’t worry. Bohol is a very safe place to stay,” Chatto told reporters on Friday.

“Makinig tayo sa mga scientists and experts (Let us listen to the scientists and experts).”

The sinkholes were found by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Central Visayas (DENR-7) in: Tagbilaran City and the towns of Baclayon, Corella, Alburquerque, Panglao, Dauis, Balilihan, Batuan, Loon and Carmen.

Ed Llamedo, DENR-7 information officer, said these sinkholes had been existing as long as 5.3 million years ago but only surfaced after the strong earthquake on Oct. 15 that killed more than 200 persons and destroyed or damaged P5 billion worth of infrastructure, churches, and public and private structures.

Llamedo urged local officials to implement force evacuation, monitor the sinkholes, put up road signs for sinkholes and cordon off exposed sinkholes.

Filling the sinkholes with cement will only be advisable after the MGB team gets a complete picture of the sinkhole below, he added.

Llamedo explained that their radar can produce an image indicating the diameter, depth, cave pillar and extent of the sinkholes.

The DENR issued a Geohazard Threat Advisory on Oct. 28, recommending the preemptive evacuation of 200 families whose houses were built on the cave roof of the sinkhole found in Poblacion Uno in Tagbilaran City. The sinkhole already ate up an interior road.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/519051/100-sinkholes-found-in-bohol-af...

http://wnep.com/2013/11/06/sinkhole-swallows-construction-equipment/

MONTOURSVILLE , PA— A hole opened on a property and swallowed a piece of construction equipment in Lycoming County. It happened Wednesday at a home on Monroe Road in Montoursville.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/11/massive-sinkhole-chicago_n...

Massive Sinkhole Opens Up On Chicago's South Side

This one hasn't swallowed up three cars, but another massive sinkhole opened up Sunday evening on Chicago's South Side.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, a water main break caused the sinkhole to eat a section of South Wentworth Avenue near 124th Street.

Though the sinkhole was initially small,area residents say it grew significantly overnight, NBC Chicago reports. It has now overtaken half the road.

One resident told CBS Chicago she awoke Monday to the sound of the street collapsing and went outside to see the hole was now about 20-by-80 feet.

Residents on the block in the West Pullman neighborhood had their water temporarily shut off as the city worked to repair the broken water main.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/14/21451841-florida-sinkhol...

Florida sinkhole swallows boat and swimming pool, threatens homes

NBC News

A sinkhole formed between two houses in Dunedin, Fla., early Thursday morning.

By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

Another large sinkhole has formed in Florida, causing parts of two homes to collapse and swallowing a boat and a backyard pool.

The sinkhole in Dunedin, Fla., erupted early Thursday morning between the two houses, and by 8:30 a.m., had grown to a size of about 30 feet wide by 30 feet deep, Dunedin Fire Chief Jeff Parks said.

"There was apparently some work being done to try to fill in what they thought was a sinkhole beneath the house the last couple of days," Parks said. "The owner woke up this morning at 5:40 when he heard noises on his back porch and went out and found the sinkhole at that point."

A screened-in porch and a 14-foot-long boat at the homeowner's property had collapsed into the hole, and next door, the master bedroom and a swimming pool had gone in.

There were no injuries, Parks said.

Six homes in Dunedin — a city on central Florida's west coast — were evacuated, and power and utility lines were cut after officials arrived on the scene of the growing sinkhole. 

A sinkhole in Tampa, Florida, has opened up near several homes, damaging one of them.

"We don't have any type of equipment. We're waiting to see what the engineering company that was working on the house suggests. At this point, it's more of a wait-and-see type of thing," Park said.

Sinkholes are relatively common in Florida, but do not always cause major disruption or injuries. In February, a Seffner, Fla., man was killed when a massive sinkhole opened up underneath his family's home.

The death of the Seffner man had prompted one of the homeowners affected by Thursday's sinkhole to hire a sinkhole prevention company to do work on his house.

Engineers had been pouring grout into the house's foundation for the past two days, Michael Dupre told BayNews9.com in Florida.

"There was a sinkhole before and we knew there was sinkhole activity," Dupre told BayNews9.com. "After the Seffner sinkhole, we were scared. We've been dealing with our insurance company and finally two days ago, they started working on our house. Now it looks like our home is gone."

Water main break AND sinkhole...

Sinkhole closes part of North River Road in Oceanside

A 16-inch water main break caused a large sinkhole alongside a two-lane road in Oceanside early today, authorities said.

The sinkhole on North River Road near state Route 76 was reported at around 7:30 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. The agency closed North River Road between Stallion and Sleeping Indian drives until further notice.

According to the city of Oceanside, the water main, made of iron, was installed in 1986. The incident caused about 10 addresses to be without water service for the day, city officials said.

http://www.sandiego6.com/story/sinkhole-in-oceanside-20131120

The 'abyss': Sinkhole leaves villagers in Bosnia in shock

In this Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013 photo, people gather around a huge sinkhole in the village of Sanica, Bosnia.

SANICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Just outside the rustic village, children fished in a tranquil pond bobbing with green algae and lined with willow trees, as cattle grazed nearby.

Now, Rezak Motanic gazes in disbelief down a gigantic moonlike crater where the pond used to be. It's like something from a science fiction movie: a sinkhole swallowed the water, the fish and even nearby trees. 

Residents of the remote village of Sanica, Bosnia, have been trying to explain how a sinkhole formed, sucking in trees and fish from the pond and leaving behind a mysterious crater.

"I sat here only a day before it happened, sipping plum brandy," Cemal Hasan said. "And then, there was panic. Fish were jumping out, and a big plum tree was pulled down like someone yanked it with a hook." 

The villagers of this remote northwestern Bosnian village have been in shock since the pond vanished two weeks ago. Their pond was some 20 meters in diameter and about eight meters deep. Now, the "abyss," as the villagers have dubbed the crater, is some 50 meters wide and 30 meters deep — and growing. 

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/26/21628087-the-abyss-si...

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/11/26/sanica-villagers-panics-as-...

45 sinkholes in Kaski, Nepal displaces 50 families

Friday, November 29, 2013

At least 45 sinkholes have been reported in Armala in Kaski District of Nepal.

Sinkholes in Armala VDC of Kaski district have displaced more than 50 families in a week.

Sinkholes have swallowed several houses including household belongings like tables, chairs, kitchen utensils, and gas cylinders.

Nearby Riverdel School has also been closed due to the threat of sinkholes, Ujyaalo Online reported.

Geologists have concluded that Kaski, Nepal sinkholes have been caused as a result of haphazard construction of buildings.

http://www.disaster-report.com/2013/11/45-sinkholes-in-kaski-nepal....

A sampling of recent sinkhole incidents involving vehicles:

Sinkhole Swallows Car in Annandale, Virginia (Dec 9)
A driver drove her car into a sinkhole in Annandale Monday morning.

Police said the 23-year-old woman was traveling northbound on Hummer Road shortly after 7 a.m., when the front end of her car plunged into the water-filled hole in the center of the roadway.  

The vehicle was flooded, but the woman was not injured in the crash.

Source



Sinkhole Swallows Cadillac in Bakersfield, California (Dec 6)
A parked Cadillac fell into a 20-foot-by-10-foot sinkhole early Friday morning.

The impact of the falling car shook nearby homes. One resident said she thought it was an earthquake.

“It shook the house,” said Shamika Wooten, who lives on L Street. “I was standing up and it lifted me up.”

She says the incident happened at about 5:30 AM Friday near the corner of 1st and L streets.

Source



Sinkhole Nearly Swallows Pickup Truck in Philadelphia, PA (Dec 5)
A huge sinkhole on a city street nearly swallowed a gray Dodge pickup this morning on the 900-block of Randolph Street in Northern Liberties.

Source

60 Meter Sinkhole in Sichuan Swallows 12 Buildings (Dec 13)
A massive sinkhole in the Pingxi village of Guangyuan city opened up around 12:40 a.m. on Friday morning and had expanded into a crater measuring 60 by 40 meters around and 30 meters-deep within hours. The sinkhole has swallowed at least 12 buildings as of 6:30 p.m. and it is expected to keep growing in size.

Source

http://shanghaiist.com/2013/12/13/sinkhole-sichuan-province.php

Other incidents in China

http://www.wzsee.com/2013/1210/205437.html?id=3
http://www.qjwb.com.cn/2013/1206/29484.shtml#g29484=2

21.12.13. Massive crater (fissure) in Aparecida de Goiânia - Goiás, Brazil

http://goias24horas.com.br/26353-oloares-posta-foto-da-cratera-giga...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2530915/Get-ready-MONTH-bad...

Downpours lead to 130ft-deep SINK-HOLE opening up in Derbyshire fields as forecasters warn wild weather will continue for a month

• Met Office has admitted that the strong winds and heavy rain is expected to continue until the end of January
  
• New storms will sweep across the UK this week sending number of flooded homes to more than 2,000
• Tens of thousands of homes were without power over Christmas and final 130 connected after five days last night
  
• Government urges power networks to cancel New Year holidays as more storms head for Britain in coming week
• Some 70 flood alerts and five more serious flood warnings remain in place across the country, but number will rise
  

By Rebecca Evans and Gerri Peev and Martin Robinson

PUBLISHED: 23:57 GMT, 29 December 2013 | UPDATED: 16:45 GMT, 30 December 2013

Torrential downpours over Christmas has caused a rare sink-hole to appear in the Peak District, which is 130ft deep and growing.

Part of the Milldam lead mine near Buxton in Derbyshire has caved-in overnight and swallowed a field as terrible weather continues to plague most of Britain.

Electricity engineers visited the site today to assess how to re-route cables after two poles were left standing precariously either side of the 160ft wide hole, caused when water erodes the earth underneath and causes the whole area to collapse.

Meanwhile it has emerged today that Britain should brace itself for an entire month of violent weather, which could cause the number of homes currently flooded more than double to 2,000 by the end of the week.

Force of nature: A field has disappeared into a giant sink hole at Foolow in the Peak District after a former mine failed to cope with days of persistent heavy rain

Rural idyll: With the rolling Peak District in the background, the 130ft deep and 160ft wide gash in the landscape has appeared overnight after the earth beneath it collapsed

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The Independent article reporting the same also jumps the gun by saying that rains are to blame for the sink hole while almost in the same breath admits that no official explanation has been given.  Typical!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2535133/Rio-slum-gets-swall...

Giant sinkhole swallows up Brazilian neighbourhood house by house as terrified inhabitants look on in disbelief - 7 January 2014

Residents in the town of Abaetetuba in the north of Brazil screamed in horror as they watched their homes disappear into massive sink holes on the weekend.

The terrifying incident was captured on CCTV cameras in the city of Abaetetuba in the northern state of Para.

These pictures show the moment gigantic craters open up in the ground and swallow dozens of houses.

Terrifying: Residents in a town in the north of Brazil screamed in horror as they watched their homes disappear into massive sink holes on the weekend.

Moments before the disaster happened, electrical wires above the houses started snapping and breaking.

This was the warning sign that more than likely saved people’s lives – as no-one was injured in the disaster.

Panicking residents can be seen frantically running to a house on the right of the screen as a woman on the first floor resorts to desperate measures by throwing her child out of a window.

The child is caught and quickly whisked away by helpers.

Quick thinking neighbours then bring a ladder to the house to help the woman escape.

She is seven months pregnant and seconds after climbing down, the building she was in collapses backwards on itself like a pack of cards.

Then the ground opens up and everything starts to sink into it. The images are dramatic and shocking to watch.

For the home owners, who had run to a safe distance, it was a devastating moment. All they could do was watch in horror as their possessions and livelihoods vanished into ever increasing chasms before their eyes.

More than 300 people of the 78,000 town-residents have been displaced by the landslide.

'A hole just opened up and sliced crossed the street engulfing all the houses around,” said a shocked Selma Costa, who lives in the area.

'Nobody can believe what happened. Houses were simply swallowed by the hole. Even the supermarket and an office went into the hole' she reported.

'Cracks just started opening up in the ground and huge craters appeared. Trucks, homes, everything went into the river,” said another resident.

Many people tried fruitlessly to save their possessions.

Photos from Abaetetuba

http://fotospublicas.com/tecnicos-da-cohab-atendem-vitimas-de-erosao-em-abaetetuba-e-fazem-vistoria-nos-locais-mais-atingidos/

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&a...

Sinkhole Eats Up Trash Truck in Center City

source

A large sinkhole partially swallowed up a sanitation truck in Philadelphia, causing a Center City street to be blocked off this morning.

Police taped off the area around the truck a little after noon as utility crews responded to the scene. The sinkhole also appeared to swallow up some of the sidewalk on the north side of the street.

Workers at the scene inspected water and gas lines below the street for damage.

House in Glasgow Sinks into Giant Hole (Jan 13)

A house in Glasgow has been evacuated after it began to sink into a giant hole in the ground.

The couple who live in the Calton area of the city were forced to flee after the house fell apart due to heavy subsidence.

Concern about the safety of the house began to emerge a month ago when cracks began to appear in the back garden and inside the property.

The state of the Millroad Drive property has since deteriorated rapidly, and the couple were advised to leave just before Christmas.

The house may now need to be demolished.

Nearby residents told of their shock at the collapse.

One neighbour of the couple, who asked not to be named, said: "It's unbelievable how much the house has sunk in such a short time.

"We've been told it's unsafe to go anywhere near it but if they demolish the house they might have to demolish other homes too."

Sources

http://www.scotsman.com/news/odd/house-in-glasgow-sinks-into-giant-...

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/couple-are-forced-to-f...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2542826/Crews-work-fix-mass...

Now Detroit is swallowed by the Earth: Huge sinkhole opens up in downtown street of declining city

By Daily Mail Repoter

PUBLISHED: 19:55 GMT, 20 January 2014 | UPDATED: 22:42 GMT, 20 January 2014

Traffic has come to a halt in downtown Detroit after a sinkhole opened up in the middle of one of the city's main streets.

The disruption occurred just blocks from the North American International Auto Show and could take days to repair.

The hole originally was about twice as big as a manhole cover but now measures about 14 feet by 10 feet and is on Randolph street at the intersection of Jefferson, next to the Coleman A. Young municipal building and the Millender Center, WWJ-AM reports.

That sinking feeling: Work crews examine a 14-feet-deep sinkhole that opened up in downtown Detroit over the weekend

DRONE CAPTURES FOOTAGE OF GIANT SINKHOLE

Heavy rains from a storm in December led to a major shift in the landscape just outside the village of Foolow, in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England.

And until now, the only images of the new landmark were taken from a safe distance on the ground. But one U.K. group that specializes in aerial shots sent their drones over the sinkhole to assess the damage. And the high-definition footage they captures is breathtaking:

(Source: YouTube screen shot)

(Source: YouTube screen shot)

The video of the hole near Foolow was taken by TeamSkyOpsUK using a camera attached to a flying drone, The Derby Telegraph reports:

The sinkhole aperture now measures a remarkable 160ft across and plummeting to a depth of 130ft, reported the Huffington Post UK.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/01/24/drone-captures-awesome-f...

Large Sinkhole Prompts Evacuations in Florida (Jan 26)
Pasco County Fire Rescue personnel are on the scene of an apparent sinkhole that has prompted the evacuation of multiple homes in Holiday.

Crews responded to a home in the 4900 block of Calais Drive around mid-morning Sunday. Initial reports are that the sinkhole is 20 feet wide, 15 feet deep and growing.

Authorities said the suspected sinkhole started under the driveway and has expanded to beneath the garage. The affected home and other nearby homes have been evacuated.

Sources

http://www.theledger.com/article/20140126/NEWS/140129321/0/Author?T...

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_pasco/pasco-fire-rescu...

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/sinkhole-opens-in-front-o...

More Sinkhole Problems in Palmyra, Pennsylvania - January 18, 2014

http://fox43.com/2014/01/18/sinkholes-growing-in-palmyra/#axzz2rsaJ...

It’s a waiting game for the families living at the intersection of East Cherry and South Grant Streets in Palmyra. Every day, they look at the sinkholes that condemned several homes and forced their neighbors out.

“Pretty much every morning you look out the window, you see is it getting bigger, is there one in the street yet,” says Jael Wolf, who lives across the street from the houses.

The borough filled the sinkholes on East Cherry and South Grant streets.
But after a water main break, the sinkholes under the homes are only getting bigger.

The borough has brought in surveyors for geological testing to see what’s causing the sinkholes.
Neighbors are worried that these houses will come crashing down soon.

“You have some sleepless nights, that’s for sure,” says Monica Combs, across the street. “You just never know. To pick up and move somewhere else it’s just so hard. I have looked, it’s just that you think of everything you have to do over.”

They see signs that more sinkholes will open up. The borough filled one of the first sinkholes that opened in October, on East Cherry street.

But in the past month, neighbors say the street is developing a dip. it’s right down the center line.

23.01.14. Sinkhole depth of 20 meters in Santa Ana de Ragán, Peru
http://diariocorreo.pe/ultimas/noticias/8184729/tierra-se-hunde-y-a...

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&a...

Sinkhole Swallows Parked Car in UK (Feb 2)
A sinkhole measuring 30ft deep has opened up on the driveway of a house in High Wycombe and swallowed a car.

Nobody was inside the Volkswagen Lupo when the ground on Main Road in Walter's Ash gave way.

The vehicle is still at the bottom covered in rubble.

Firefighters were called to Main Road in the village at 8.32am after the family awoke to discover their Volkswagen Lupo at the bottom of the hole.

Firefighters said the hole was about 15ft (4.5m) diameter but left the scene after discovering no-one was inside.

Watch manager Stuart Grosse said: “A hole has opened up outside of the property in the driveway where the family left their car.

“They parked it there last night and woke up to find it covered in mud at the bottom of this hole."

The family has been evacuated from their home.

A cordon is in place around the house and the matter has now been passed into the hands of Wycombe District Council’s Building Control.

Sources

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-26010192

http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/10981264.Family_evacuated_from...

Atlanta Woman Falls Into Sinkhole By Her Front Door (Feb 5)
A Georgia man ran to the rescue after his wife fell into a sinkhole that opened up near the front door of their home.

Aaron Kent, of Atlanta, said his wife, who is 74, was leaving for work Wednesday morning when she stepped outside and plunged into the sinkhole, which he estimated to be 8 feet deep and 12 feet wide.

By himself, Kent managed to pull her out. She only suffered minor injuries.

Kent says the sinkhole wasn't in front of his house Tuesday night.

He said city officials told him he may be responsible for fixing the hole.

Sources

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/02/06/georgia-man-rescues-wife-from-...

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/24646653/man-has-to-pull-wife-fro...

Lots of sinkholes today...  This one is in the same county (High Wycombe, UK) as the "car swallower" from last week (Howards post from 2/2).

Sinkhole appears in Gerrards Cross garden

http://bit.ly/1gm3dRb  via @BucksAdvertiser

Sinkhole appears in Gerrards Cross garden

10 Feb 2014 12:52

A sinkhole has appeared in the garden of a home in Gerrards Cross - the second to appear in the county within a week.

Reader Emma Baker sent us in this picture of the 5ft deep hole, which has opened up in her garden in Austenwood Lane.

It follows another hole, estimated to be about 15 feet, which opened in a road in High Wycombe last week following the heavy rainfall, and swallowing an entire car.

No one was inside the VW Lupo when the ground on Main Road, in Walter's Ash, opened up at 8.32am on Sunday.

The car, which belongs to a girl living at the property, is still at the bottom of the hole on its side.

Sinkholes are rare but are created by a depression or collapse of earth beneath the surface.

Fortunately no one was injured when the earth collapsed

M2 Closed By 15ft-Deep Sinkhole In Rush Hour

11 February 2014

A 15ft-deep sinkhole has closed the M2 - and experts claim the wet weather battering England could be to blame.

Engineers are conducting emergency repair work near Sittingbourne in Kent but the motorway remains closed in both directions between junctions 5 and 6.

Long tailbacks have now developed either side of the 10-mile stretch.

The Highways Agency said: "Road users are advised that the M2 is currently closed for urgent safety investigations and repairs after a large hole opened up in the central reservation.

"The Highways Agency and its contractors are working hard to investigate the hole and the necessary repairs and will reopen lanes as soon as it is safe to do so.

"Traffic heading to and from Dover is advised to use the M20."

A representative from the AA believes the hole, which is almost 17x7ft across, could have been caused by the extreme weather being endured by much of southern England.

"The M2 started operating in 1965 and I am not aware of any previous collapses so perhaps this is yet another casualty of the exceptionally wet weather," said AA roads policy head Paul Watters.

"We hope the Highways Agency can quickly resolve the problem as this is a key route to the port of Dover and to east Kent."

A signed diversion is now in place via the A249, the M20, the A20, the A252 and the A251.

Motoring organisations have campaigned for more funding to fix and prevent holes on the road network, but the AA claims no amount of money would have prevented Tuesday's incident.

"Thankfully this was on the central reservation," said company president Edmund King. "If a hole of this nature had opened up on a carriageway it could well have led to tragedy.

"I don't think this is anything to do with potholes or general maintenance. There seems to have been some structural anomaly - perhaps some sort of geological fault or an old mineshaft.

"Clearly, it's a concern that this has happened on a busy motorway that leads to and from the coast. Engineers will want to deal with this as soon as possible. If the stretch of motorway stays shut it will cause traffic problems, but safety must come first."

Fifteen feet is taller than a double-decker bus.

Earlier this month a sinkhole measuring 30ft-deep swallowed a car after opening on the driveway of a house in High Wycombe.

Nobody was inside the VW Lupo when the ground on Main Road in Walter's Ash gave way.

http://news.sky.com/story/1210020/m2-closed-by-15ft-deep-sinkhole-i...

A 30ft-sinkhole swallowed a car in High Wycombe last week

Sinkhole collapses part of Corvette Museum in Kentucky USA - February 12

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Eight Corvettes fell into a sinkhole that opened up beneath a section of the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky on Wednesday.

The sinkhole, about 40 feet wide and about 25 to 30 feet deep, appeared before dawn under the skydome section of the museum, said Executive Director Wendell Strode.

Museum spokeswoman Katie Frassinelli said six of the cars were owned by the museum and two — a 1993 ZR-1 Spyder and a 2009 ZR1 Blue Devil — were on loan from General Motors.

Bowling Green city spokeswoman Kim Lancaster said the hole opened up at about 5:40 a.m. CST Wednesday, setting off an alarm and a call to the fire department. Frassinelli said no one was in the museum at the time.

The hole is in part of the domed section of the museum, and that area will remain closed. That's an original part of the facility for which was completed in 1994.

Frassinelli said the rest of the museum was open Wednesday.

The other cars damaged were a 1962 black Corvette, a 1984 PPG Pace Car, a 1992 White 1 Millionth Corvette, a 1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Corvette, a 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette and a 2009 white 1.5 Millionth Corvette.

Lancaster said information was still being gathered about what exactly happened, but it appeared to be the first incident of its kind at the property.

Bowling Green sits in the midst of the state's largest karst region — the Western Pennyroyal area, where many of Kentucky's longest and deepest caves run underground. A karst display distinctive surface features, including sinkholes.

No injuries were reported in the incident.

Frassinelli said a structural engineer has been called to the museum to assess existing damage and the stability of the surrounding area.

The museum is set to host the 2014 Corvette Caravan in September, a celebration marking the 20th anniversary of the museum.

Sources: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/02/12/3083407/collapse-at-national-cor...

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/12/us/national-corvette-museum-cars-fall...

SECOND giant sinkhole appears in Kent - this time in a mum's back garden

Engineers have told Gretel Davidson the 17ft-deep crater is a "total act of God"

Emma Stoner / Newsquest / Cascade News

 Huge: The crater in Gretel Davidson's back garden could fit a double  decker bus

Emma Stoner / Newsquest / Cascade News

A second giant sinkhole has opened up in Kent - this time in a family's back  garden.

Gretel Davidson said she didn't believe her 12-year-old daughter when she  rang her to say a huge black hole had appeared in their lawn.

But when she got home she discovered the 17ft-deep, 10ft-wide chasm.

The sinkhole is the second to appear in the region after a 15ft-deep hole appeared  in the central reservation of the M2 yesterday.

Experts have suggested they could be a result of the recent wet weather.

Shocked Gretel is now facing a £10,000 bill to have it repaired because her  insurers say it hasn't damaged her home and they won't be paying up.

Gretel, a radiographer from Barnehurst, Bexleyheath, said: "I just feel  totally helpless. Mia rang me to say 'Mum there is a massive hole in the  garden'.

"I didn't really believe her and just thought she was going over the top.

"It is just unbelievable to think a hole that size could appear overnight and  out of nowhere."

Gretel, 55, knocked on her neighbour's doors to try and get some help but  nobody had any idea what to do.

She added: "I got in touch with the council but they said they couldn't help because it's my own property.

"I then got in touch with Halifax, my home insurance, and they said the hole  is too far away from my home so they couldn't help either.

"I am just devastated. I spent the whole weekend crying and have been doing  everything I can to try and sort it out."

Structural engineer Dan Baker, director of DJB Structural Engineers Ltd in  Erith, looked at the hole on Saturday and is drawing up an action plan.

He said: "It is a naturally occurring oblique swallow hole. It could cost  upwards of £10,000 to fix.

"It is just one of those things you cannot predict - a total act of God.

"They are not common but they have been known to happen in this area in the  past.

"Thankfully nobody was in the garden because someone could have died.

"We have got to make it safe as soon as possible."

Read more:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/kent-sinkhole-second-crater-op...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2560085/BREAKING-NEWS-House...

Seventeen houses evacuated after home was left teetering on the brink of massive sinkhole 35ft wide and 20ft deep which opened up in suburban cul-de-sac

• Gigantic crater in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, opened at 7.30am today
  
• 17 homeowners have been evacuated and one house is on its brink
• Police: We are working with council, engineers and utilities companies
• One woman who was evacuated claimed ground had been sinking for weeks
  
• It comes after several sinkholes opened thanks to heavy rain battering UK
• Craters are caused when water ebbs away at soil creating unstable caverns
• Hertfordshire has a long history of chalk mining which could be a factor
  

By Dan Bloom

PUBLISHED: 12:30 GMT, 15 February 2014 | UPDATED: 14:52 GMT, 15 February 2014

A huge sinkhole has opened up in a suburban cul-de-sac, forcing 17 houses to be evacuated and leaving one home teetering on the brink of a 20ft drop.

Police officers cordoned off the road in Hemel Hertforshire, Hertfordshire, after the 35ft-wide crater appeared at 7.30am following weeks of rain.

One woman who was evacuated told local radio station Heart the ground had been sinking for weeks, reporter Amy Woodfield said on Twitter.

+12

Teetering: The corner of a house has been left dangling perilously over a 20ft sinkhole in Hemel Hempstead

+12

Dramatic: 17 houses have been evacuated in from the quiet suburban cul-de-sac in Hertfordshire

+12

Authorities are looking into it: The sinkhole is the latest in a string of landslips caused by extreme weather

05.02.14. Residents of Alcinópolis city, located on 387 km from Campo Grande, are concerned about giant six feet deep crater (fissure), that appeared next to the highway BR-359, connecting the city with Minas Gerais.
http://www.jovemsulnews.com.br/categoria/gerais/municipio-de-alcino...

Woman is critically ill after ground apparently collapsed from under her car in Swansea - February 19

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/02/21/ottawa-sinkhole_n_4831003.html

Ottawa Sinkhole Closes Intersection At Laurier Avenue East And Waller Street

A large sinkhole swallowed up part of an Ottawa street overnight, forcing road closures and the shutdown of a nearby transit station.

It happened around 1 a.m., just south of Laurier Avenue East, the Ottawa Citizen reports. Luckily, no one was injured.

The Waller Street collapse also prompted a shutdown of tunneling work on the city's light-rail transit project this morning. Crews just started tunnelling around the clock in the area on Wednesday.

The city told The Citizen that crews were filling the sinkhole with concrete to stabilize it. At 25 feet wide and 40 feet deep, we're guessing they're going to need a lot of concrete.

Graves Sinking in Southeast England (Feb 21) 

The soil has begun to sink at a cemetary in Kent.

Huge chasms have begun to appear in a cemetery in Gravesend exposing unmarked graves and leaving families fearing for the loved ones they have lost.

Cemetery bosses spoke of their shock at seeing the huge number of graves being engulfed by the sodden ground following weeks of wet weather.

A council spokesman told Kent Online: "It is quite common for graves to sink - especially after a period of heavy rain. But none of the staff has seen anything of this scale."

A sign outside the graveyard warns family members to keep away from certain areas where the ground is sinking.

It read: "The ground staff are backfilling them as soon as they can, but due to the scale of the problem, have had to tape off some areas where the situation is particularly bad.

"Please be careful when walking on the grass as sometimes the soil has compacted but the grass remains like a carpet over the hole."

Source

http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/461033/Sinking-Britain-Now-sin...

Car Plunges Headfirst Into Sinkhole as Woman Parks in Driveway (Feb 21)

A car plunged headfirst into a 10-foot-wide sinkhole on Long Island New York Friday as a woman was parking in her driveway after returning from an acupuncture appointment.

After pulling into the spot where she's parked every day for years, she found herself and her car suddenly underground after the earth swallowed her Subaru with Gail still in the driver's seat.

The driver, 65-year-old Gayle Sorrentino, said she was in shock but managed to call 911 after the car toppled into the hole.

"It's really hard to describe, it's just all of sudden swish, and stop," said Sorrentino.

"I pulled in I'm looking at the arbor, and then I'm looking at the dirt," Sorrentino said, "The car just went down with no sound, no booms, no rattles no nothing."

There was nothing she could do but call 911.

"I said, 'I'm calling from my car which is in a sinkhole in my driveway.' And there was this pause at the other end. And she said, 'Ma'am?' I said, 'I'm in the car!'" Sorrentino said.

"I was only afraid -- the sand around started to come down a little bit, and I just didn't know if it was going to stay stationary or going to collapse," said Sorrentino.

A friend, Howard Osborne, said he was inside the home and came up the stairs to see the car sticking up in the air.

He rushed outside and Sorrentino told him she had already called 911. Rescuers arrived and were able to pull her out the driver's side window, Osborne said.

"It's just so weird! The circumstances? I mean if you tell this story to somebody? You think they'll really believe this? I don't know!" Sorrentino said.

Sources

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Car-in-Sinkhole-Long-Island-Ro...

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/long_island&am...

http://online.thatsmags.com/post/shenzen-sees-second-road-collapse-...

Second Shenzhen road collapse in two days injures 5 people

1. 26 Feb 2014

A road collapsed in Shenzhen on Monday, leaving a four metre (13 feet) deep hole and injuring a taxi driver and 4 passengers.

A second collapse occurred Tuesday in the Luohu area of the city, but luckily no injuries were reported.

The south China city is no stranger to incidents of this nature. In 2013, a sinkhole in Longgang District killed five. Several others fell into the 10 metre wide, two metre deep hole (32 x 6.5 feet), with one man managing to escape with the aid of firefighters.

According to statistics, Shenzhen saw 10 road collapses in 2013 alone, many causing injuries and even death. 

Last week, a huge sinkhole opened in a Beijing street, disrupting the water supply of over 300 households nearby.