Fears of gas leak after massive sinkhole opens above gas main, leaving lorry marooned in Essex road

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/fears-of-gas-leak-after-massive-s...

A lorry was this afternoon stuck straddling a giant sinkhole over a gas main after the road surface "opened up" underneath it.

A hazard zone was set up for 200m surrounding the hole and two gas pipes were exposed on either side of the road.

There was a "smell of gas" in the area, a spokesman for Essex Fire Brigade said.

Hogg Lane in Grays will be shut overnight, chiefs have said. The HGV - pictured in local reports as a Vacu-Lug lorry with an L plate on the back - will be left "exactly where it is" until surveyors come and inspect the road.

http://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/woman-kids-escape-after-van-falls-into-...

CTV Saskatoon: Van falls into flooded sinkhole

 

A woman and two children escaped Thursday evening after their van fell into a flooded sinkhole.

 

A tow truck pulls a van out of a sinkhole on Saskatoon's 45th Street, near Avenue C, Thursday evening.

A mother and her two young children escaped Thursday evening after their van fell into a flooded sinkhole.

A witness told CTV he was driving on Saskatoon’s 45th Street near Avenue C, around 4:45 p.m., when the van ahead of him plunged into the hole.

He and other drivers pulled over. He said he helped a woman and two kids escape the vehicle.

A two truck pulls a van out of a sinkhole on Saskatoon's 45th Street.

A van driving on Saskatoon's 45th Street plunged into a flooded sinkhole Thursday afternoon, according to a witness. (Submitted: Askandar M Agha)

The mother said her kids -- a one-year-old boy and three-year-old boy -- were sleeping in the vehicle's backseat when the van hit the sinkhole. She tried to avoid the water but the ground collapsed underneath her vehicle.

The three weren't injured, but visibly shaken up. Witnesses said the area was not blocked off with barricades when the incident occurred.

People who work in the area told CTV they phoned police earlier in the day to report what they assumed was a water main break.

Police said city crews responded to the scene.

The van was pulled from the sinkhole just before 6 p.m.

Hello Everyone,

This one is rather an earth crack than a sinkhole,but was not sure where to post it.

It happened a few month ago in Hungary, and is getting bigger.

Local government blame the rain, I m not sure about that ::):):):

http://rtl.hu/rtlklub/hirek/mar-80-meteres-a-krater-a-szantofoldon

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

80 méter hosszú és 7 méter mély hasadék van egy Zala megyei község egyik szántóföldjén. A rengeteg csapadék okozta a hatalmas krátert még ősszel. Emiatt viszont minden esőzéskor rengeteg sár zúdul innen a közeli házak udvarába és Gelsesziget főútjára. Baleset is történt már emiatt.

Lanes closed in Northampton town centre after sinkhole opens in road

http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/local/lanes-closed-in-northa...

A sinkhole that opened in the road in Northampton is causing problems for motorists.

The hole, which is being repaired by workers from Anglian Water, appeared over the weekend outside the BBC Northampton building in Lower Mounts.
Two lanes of traffic have been closed heading towards the Grosvenor Centre for a short stretch and temporary traffic lights have been put in place near Northampton College and at the junction of Lower Mounts and York Road.

The pavement between the top of Abington Street and the job centre is also cordoned off with police tape, and the bus stop within the prohibited zone has been temporarily moved outside the job centre building.

Saskatoon: Cement truck falls into back alley sinkhole

http://globalnews.ca/news/2034096/cement-truck-falls-into-saskatoon...

It was a sinking feeling for a morning delivery man in Saskatoon. A cement truck went through a sinkhole in a back alley on Mackie Crescent.

Derek Zary captured the moments afterwards on video.
Zary told Global News the fully loaded cement truck arrived around 8 a.m. Wednesday to make a delivery when it went through the sinkhole.
A crane had to be called in to lift the truck out of the hole – an operation that took three hours. Crews also had to deal with underground power lines, but power to the area did not have to be shut off.

Sergeant scrambles to safety after sinkhole swallows Sheridan police SUV

http://kdvr.com/2015/06/05/massive-sinkhole-swallows-sheridan-polic...

SHERIDAN, Colo. — A Sheridan police sergeant’s SUV went into a massive sinkhole early Friday morning on West Oxford Avenue near River Point Parkway.

Sgt. Greg Miller was taken to Swedish Medical Center to be treated for minor injuries after the accident about 2:15 a.m. as he was traveling eastbound on Oxford at Natches Court.

The Sheridan Police Department said as Miller entered the intersection, the road gave way and collapsed, creating a sinkhole about 10 to 15 feet deep.

“I was on basic patrol driving down the road and the next I know there’s a big bam,” Miller said. “And I realize I’m down in this hole with water rushing around me. Dirt walls. And the only thing I can think of is I better get out of here.”

Miller crawled onto the roof and out of the sinkhole and has since been released from the hospital.

“I climbed through the driver’s side window. Reached up, grabbed the rails on top of the SUV, pulled myself up onto the roof, then reached up onto the pavement and pulled myself out.”

The SUV is a total loss.

Weatherford building about to be swallowed by sinkhole

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCUthn8Z_KY

Google Maps

Neighbors worried about massive sinkhole on Detroit's west side

http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/detroit/neighbors-worried-about-mas...

Neighbors on Detroit's west side are worried someone is going to get hurt if a massive sinkhole isn't repaired soon.

The sinkhole, at the intersection of Colfax and Linsdale, is at least 14 feet wide and is swallowing the roadway with each passing day.

Neighbors say complaints to city hall and the water department have not resulted in the road being repaired. After a month of concern, they reached out to 7 Action News.

Curtrise Garner from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department told us it is a rather intricate repair, and they had to contract it out to make sure it gets done right the first time.

Southwest Colorado Springs neighborhood ravaged by sinkholes

http://fox21news.com/2015/06/11/southwest-colorado-springs-neighbor...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — One neighborhood is dealing with some massive sinkholes in the middle of the street, causing cars to swerve around them.

Some are worried the problem could get worse if it’s not fixed soon.

The sinkholes are in the southwest part of town on Irvington Court, where there are two, and on Ellsworth Street, which has another.

Neighbors said one sinkhole has been getting worse for around three weeks, while the others are more recent and progressing faster.

Diane Smith said the city isn’t doing nearly enough to fix the problem.

“They’re doing nothing, other than putting cones around, which is not a fix. … It just makes me crazy, because you want to be careful there’s another car coming, you have to stop. It’s just ridiculous,” said Smith.

This problem isn’t going away by itself.

“They’re getting worse,” said Smith. “When we went out yesterday the one down around the corner was sinking, you could see, but it hadn’t gone down. We came up about four hours later and it completely collapsed.”

Smith said she’s disappointed in the city.

“We have not seen one person. Nobody from the city, even driving up to see where they are,” said Smith.

That is angering for her and her neighbors.

“It hasn’t rained in this area and yet they still haven’t been up here, so they don’t have an excuse and I think heavy rain is going to make it much worse,” said Smith.

Sinkhole forces Illawong residents to evacuate

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sinkhole-forces-illawong-residents-to-eva...

More than a dozen people have fled their homes at Illawong in Sydney's south after a sinkhole swallowed a backyard on Monday afternoon.

The three-metre deep hole opened up about 4pm, forcing police and firefighters to evacuate a row of townhouses on Osprey Drive.

One man was asleep on his couch when he heard a loud crack in his garden outside, the man's friend, Hisham Bashir said.
"He looked outside and the tree had collapsed and the ground started to sink," Mr Bashir said.

"Dirt had sprayed up all over his backyard and on the trampoline. There was dirt all over the windows.

"It's pretty scary, but these things happen," he said.

Police said the hole measured 10 metres by six metres, and was three metres deep. They said it opened up without warning.

Thirteen residents inside the homes were evacuated as a precaution. While most have now returned to their homes, the man who saw the sinkhole open, along with his partner and their six-month-old baby, have not been able to do so.

The townhouses sit on top of a massive garage that services the 22-unit complex, which is prone to flooding, most recently during the Sydney storms in April.

In the south of Moscow there was a sinkhole

Source of image: NTV.ru

Sinkhole occurred near the 23th kilometer of the Moscow Ring Road on Saturday morning, blocked one of the lanes at the "inner ring", told RIA Novosti in Moscow traffic police.

"On the inner side of the road collapsed ground transport currently pass is only two lanes. At the scene builders, they are finishing the restoration work. In parallel, inspection, investigate the cause of what happened," - said the representative office.

According to information service "Yandex" according to 10.50 MSK on the inner side of the Moscow Ring Road in the vicinity of Kashira Highway traffic jam was formed almost a ten. On the outside the Moscow Ring Road in the vicinity of Kashira Highway traffic jam there for about three kilometers.

Source: ria.ru

Large sinkhole opens on Lenexa golf course

Canyon Farms shortens hole, keeps course open

LENEXA, Kan. —A big sinkhole has opened up on a Lenexa golf course.

The sinkhole is on the left side of the fairway on the 13th hole at Canyon Farms Golf Course. Despite the change in the landscape, the course and the hole itself remain open.

“I believe it’s par 4,” said golfer Jerry Nelson. “But they have set the tee box way up front about 120 yards out.”

Shortening the hole takes the sinkhole out of play.

A statement from the owners said a portion of the course is built over a nonoperating limestone mine. The statement said the majority of the mine is considered stable, according to various geotechnical studies.

Nelson and his partner said they took a good look at the sinkhole as they played the course.

“We walked to walk around and look into it a little bit. It looks like everything has sunk 10 feet or so,” Nelson said. “The green from the grass is down about 8 to 10 feet, something like that.”

Canyon Farms management said sinkholes on golf courses are common. Nelson said it was first one he has ever seen. Recent wet weather may have been a factor in causing the sinkhole to open up.

The owners said they’re trying to figure out how to repair the sinkhole.

Source: http://www.kmbc.com/news/large-sinkhole-opens-on-lenexa-golf-course... 

Google Maps

Nine sinkholes in 3 months scare locals in central town

http://www.dailysabah.com/nation/2015/06/25/nine-sinkholes-in-3-mon...

Karapınar, a town of some 48,000 people in the central province of Konya, was once known for its desert-like landscape dotted with countless dunes that rain dust on the town in bad weather. Now it faces another threat, this time from underground in the form of sinkholes.

Nine sinkholes, with some reaching 70-meters in depth, have emerged over the past three months in the town. Although they were not in residential areas, locals live in fear that a massive sinkhole could devour buildings.

Sinkholes have been common in the area since 1997, but their size has considerably increased in the past two years, during which 12 sinkholes have emerged. Dirican says the figure may be higher, as some landowners do not report sinkholes in their fields so that they are not closed to use for agriculture.

Experts link over 200 sinkholes in the region outside Karapınar to recent downpours.

Epic sinkhole shuts down street in the Junction

http://www.blogto.com/city/2015/06/epic_sinkhole_shuts_down_street_...

A sinkhole as large as a SUV opened up today on Runnymede just south of Dundas West in the Junction. Police quickly closed the street to traffic and the TTC has diverted the 79 Scarlett Rd and 71 Runnymede buses indefinitely until the road is sufficiently repaired.

While the sinkhole isn't as large as those seen elsewhere, it was large enough to make the evening news and get some attention on social media.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/837649-bangkoks-phetkasem-road-...

Phetkasem Road collapses into itself (PHOTOS)

BANGKOK: -- Several motorists faced a dilemma when they could not go any further or turn back after a sinkhole the width of Phetkasem Road in the Bang Khae just opened out of the blue last night.

Luckily, no accident was reported after the road surface collapsed into a hole about a meter deep at 10pm.

Photos of the hole spread online and being a Thursday night, created a small but feeble meme opportunity.

Exmouth beach cordoned off as large mystery hole appears (England)

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-33378065

A large mystery hole which spurted "big plumes of water" and sent plants and snails shooting into the air has appeared on a beach.

The coastguard at Exmouth beach cordoned off the 15ft (4.6m) by 15ft hole on Thursday afternoon.

When the coastguard team arrived they said the surrounding sand was soft and fresh holes were appearing.

Kite surf instructor James Dart said: "I looked over and there were big plumes of water coming out of the beach it was all bubbling up much like a geyser, it was probably going about a foot above the beach - it was quite tremendous sight.

Massive sinkhole near Chene and Medbury on Detroit's east side

DETROIT (WXYZ) - A Detroit roadway gives way, creating a danger for passing drivers. 

The massive sinkhole is at least 25 feet wide and several feet deep. The images are startling. 

"We were driving down Chene, next thing we knew, we just missed the giant sinkhole." Pastor Barry Randolph said. "It's amazing we didn't fall in."

At the time, the sinkhole wasn't marked to alert Randolph and others to the danger. Instead of driving by, the Pastor and his niece turned around. 

With the help of other good Samaritans, they were able to block the road until help could arrive. A cab driver blocked the road and a DTE crew blocked the area with cones and caution tape.

Neighbors say crews patched the roadway last week, then sometime Monday, the road gave way. 

Within an hour of alerting the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, a crew arrived to look at the damage.  A short time after that, several crews arrived to begin repairs.

Source: http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/detroit/massive-sinkhole-near-chene... 

Sinkhole on Eglinton Ave. W. partially closes road near Keele St.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/sinkhole-on-eglinton-ave-w-pa...

Toronto police are warning people to avoid a section of Eglinton Avenue West where a large sinkhole has opened up.

Police said the six-metre long sinkhole — large enough to swallow a car — opened up on Eglinton Avenue West, between Keele Street and Richardson Avenue.

Anne Marie Aikins, a spokeswoman for Metrolinx, said construction on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT line was not responsible for the sinkhole.

"As soon as we heard about the issue this morning we sent our team to the site and they determined it's unrelated to our construction and hasn't impacted their work on the Crosstown," Aikins wrote in an email to CBC News.

Locals troubled by 15 fresh sinkholes in Armala, Nepal.

Armala village, near Pokhara, witnesses numerous sinkholes once again

July 12, 2015

sinkholes of various sizes have appeared in Armala village, near Pokhara, of Kaski district, once again.

Around one and half years ago, dozens of sinkholes had been formed in Armala, terrorising and displacing hundreds of local residents from the village.

Though land had stopped caving in after a few months, it has restarted recently, making the villagers anxious.

A local informed that at least 15 holes have appeared in the village in last three days.

Liladhar Acharya, another local and chairman of Armala Disaster Management Committee, said the villagers are going through sleepless nights amid fear of possible destruction.

The caving-in has put a private school and six individual houses as well as drinking water pipes, electricity and telephone lines and roads of the area at a high risk.

Locals have warned that possible destruction in the village may cause a blockage in supply of drinking water, electricity and telephone lines to the Lake City.

An expert team from the Department of Mines and Geology had recommended not to plant paddy – and any crop requiring irrigation – in the village. However, the villagers apparently overruled the recommendation and planted paddy recently.

They had left around 500 ropani field bare last year, owing to the recommendation. That had incurred a loss of around Rs 90 million, according to Acharya.

The geo-physical survey team had also concluded that excessive use of natural resources including encroachment on water resources was the major cause of the disaster.

A senior expert from the Department, Shree Kamal Dwivedi, said paddy plantation should be prohibited in the area for at least next five years.

Source

Terrifying Road Collapse in Eastern China (Jul 13)

A cement truck, telephone pole and police kiosk were swallowed into the ground during a terrifying road collapse in Anhui province. 3 people were injured when the busy road opened up.

The 1,000 square-feet sinkhole in Anhui province appeared in front of a department store in the city, which has closed temporarily.

The cause of the collapse is still under investigation.

There have been a series of road collapses across China over recent years

Source

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/peoplesdaily/article-3160726/Three-...

Sinkhole swallows car in Hastings

http://westchester.news12.com/news/sinkhole-swallows-car-in-hasting...

A driver in Hastings had some scary moments on Tuesday when her minivan was swallowed by a sinkhole.
The driver of a minivan says she was parking when the ground gave way on Broadway at the River Glen Apartment Complex.
Officials say the sinkhole may have been caused by an underground drainage problem.
Firefighters say the hole exposed a gas line but that it posed no danger

Large 'Land Shift' at Kansas Playground (Jul 17)

The Shawnee Mission School District is trying to figure out what to do about what they call a land shift outside Ray Marsh Elementary School.

The school has closed off the playground to visitors because it’s too dangerous for kids to go near it. The land has shifted, forming a giant hole where some kids play. What’s left is crumbling asphalt, a giant puddle and caution tape everywhere.

It’s not the playground Joe Anderson remembers his kids playing on nearly every day at school.

“We often after school just go walking around and stuff, so it’s kind of surprising that something like that would be around,” Anderson said.

The school district won’t say what’s to blame for the ground suddenly sinking along the fence and are only calling it a land shift.

Charlie McComb worries about taking his 2-year-old son to visit the playground.

“We like to go up there, he likes it quite a bit. It’d be nice if they get it fixed,” he said.

The massive rains we’ve seen this summer could be to blame. The playground is built along a retaining wall.

“You wouldn’t think a lot of rain would be enough for a whole hillside to fall off on a place where there’s children at,” McComb said.

Right now school officials don’t know whether they will have to delay the start of school because of the damage.

Source

http://www.kctv5.com/story/29576393/land-shift-forms-giant-hole-nea...

http://www.wgem.com/story/29582562/2015/07/19/pike-county-man-dies-... 

Pike County man dies after driving into sinkhole

Posted: Jul 19, 2015 4:55 PM EDT

PIKE COUNTY, Ill. (WGEM) -

A Pike County man died early Sunday morning after his vehicle drove directly into a sinkhole following a road collapse.

Pike County Sheriff Paul Petty says they responded to a single vehicle crash on County Highway 2, 1.5 miles east of New Salem.  Petty says emergency personnel found an Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative work truck, which had responded due to power outages during a storm.

Petty says it was believed the roadway had collapsed above a culvert running directly under the road. Heavy rains weakened the structured.  He says the vehicle drove directly into the road collapse. The roadway, which is twenty-two feet wide, collapsed and sunk directly below, which created a hole over twenty feet long and the entire width of the roadway.

The driver of the vehicle, Robert W. Moss, 52, of Pittsfield, was pronounced dead at the scene and later taken to Niebur Funeral Home. 

REA released a statement, saying in the dark rain, Moss likely never saw what was coming. 

Petty believes the crash happened sometime between 5am and 6am Sunday morning.  He says the road is closed and will likely be closed for several weeks for repair.

Papua New Guinea sinkhole destroys 16 houses, injures two

July 21, 2015

A sinkhole in Papua New Guinea's east has destroyed 16 houses and injured two people, local media says.

The Post-Courier reported the sinkhole appeared in the swampy Ambunti area of East Sepik Province and caused panic among locals.

Photos on social media showed huge cracks in the soil, as well as collapsed houses.

The newspaper quoted a witness who said the sinkhole formed about midday on Saturday, near the Sepik River.

The ABC has been unable to reach emergency officials.

Source

BACKHOE GETS STUCK OVER LARGE SINKHOLE IN ROSELAND

http://abc7chicago.com/news/backhoe-stuck-in-large-sinkhole-in-fern...

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A backhoe got stuck over a large sinkhole in the Roseland neighborhood on Chicago's Far South Side.

The Chicago Water Dept. said they were called to the area Wednesday afternoon for a sewer cave-in. The backhoe was attempting to temporarily cover a hole in 103rd St. with a metal plate when more of the street gave way.

The driver was able to exit the backhoe safely. Residents said they noticed the road had a problem weeks ago.

"I noticed a little dip in the street right here," says Cunard Buchanon. "At first it was a small dip, then throughout the first week it was spreading it a bit, getting a little bit wider like a bowl. Today, I'm driving my cousin to day camp, we drove over it, I'm like, this is gonna open up today."

On Wednesday night, a crane gently lifted the backhoe off the hole and revealed the problem - a broken sewer main. Water department officials said the sewer main is made out of brick and was built in 1898.

"We're targeting all of the old infrastructure, the old sewer mains, the old water mains and we're replacing them," said Dep. Cmsr. Dwayne Hightower, Dept. of Water Management.

Crane to remove drill rig from Citrus sinkhole

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

PINE RIDGE --
Drilling a well outside a Citrus County home wasn’t supposed to form huge sinkhole swallowing the drilling rig, but that’s exactly what happened Thursday.

“Things were going pretty good then the ground just gave away,” said neighbor Judd Garvin.

Judd Garvin who lives near the home saw it happen right before his eyes yesterday. On Friday, he and a group of neighbors get to watch a 250-ton crane pull the now bent drill rig out of the 30-feet-deep hole.

But crews say it won’t be an easy hook.

“The nature of the lift is rather challenging -- the drill rig itself is around 56,000 pounds,” said VP of Citrus Well Drilling Inc., Todd Townsend.

Crews fear the crane will also sink due to the weight which is why crews are laying blocks on the ground as padding underneath it.

Citrus Well Drilling says a hole of that size is a rare occurrence.

“We’ve been drilling for 40 years, this is the second one we’ve experienced with this size and magnitude,” said Townsend.

Crews plan to be on scene for several more hours working on making sure they pull the rig out safely.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3178902/Roads-caravans-swal...

The Dead Sea is shrinking! Roads, caravans and power lines are swallowed up by giant sinkholes that are appearing as waters vanish from Israeli shores 

• Giant sinkholes forming at a dramatic rate on the Israeli shoreline are swallowing roads, caravans and power lines
• Hundreds of sinkholes, some the size of a basketball court, are rapidly forming because the Dead Sea is shrinking
• Waters are vanishing at rate of more than one metre a year and the problem is set to get worse without global action
• Happening because its natural water sources have been diverted for farming and drinking water, and due to mining

Roads, caravans and power lines are being swallowed up by giant sinkholes appearing at a rapid rate because the Dead Sea is shrinking from Israeli shores in a man-made phenomenon.

Hundreds of sinkholes, some the size of a basketball court and some two storeys deep, are wreaking havoc by devouring land where the shoreline once stood.

Waters are vanishing at a rate of more than one metre a year and the problem is set to get worse without action on an international scale.

Scroll down for video 

Worrying phenomenon: Hundreds of sinkholes, some the size of a basketball court and some two storeys deep, are wreaking havoc by devouring land where the Israeli shoreline once stood. It is happening because the Dead Sea is shrinking at a rapid rate 

Ongoing problem: Once a rarity, hundreds of new sinkholes are appearing every year, and the rate is expected to rise. Officials have not come up with a figure for the extent of the damage, but power lines have been downed and caravans and bungalows swallowed

Isolated: The main reason the sea is shrinking is because its natural water sources, which flow south through the Jordan river valley from Syria and Lebanon, have been diverted for farming and drinking water along the way. Pictured is a utility pole standing in the Dead Sea

http://www.sott.net/article/299682-Sinkhole-swallows-car-in-Fernand...

Sinkhole swallows car in Fernandina Beach, Florida

Sat, 01 Aug 2015 15:59 UTC

Car in sinkhole

No one was injured when a sinkhole swallowed a car at an apartment complex in Fernandina Beach. 

It happened Saturday at the Amelia Landings complex. 

The sheriff's office believe the sinkhole formed after a water main break. 

Crews were working to repair the sinkhole Saturday night. 

Giant Sinkhole Engulfs New York City Intersection (Aug 4)

A massive sinkhole has swallowed up an intersection in Brooklyn, New York, snarling up traffic and causing water and gas outages to nearby buildings.

Dramatic images show the gaping hole in the corner of 64th Street and 5th Avenue, located just a short block away from the I-278, also known as the Gowanus Expressway, in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood.

The crater appeared shortly after 7:00am on Tuesday. There were no injuries.

“There were cars on it just minutes before,” Frank Bowman, whose rooftop surveillance camera captured the cave-in, told WCBS radio. “There was no warning, this thing just happened quick.”

Fire department and utility crews are at the site, securing the area and attempting to reconnect the severed utility lines, local media report. Police have blocked 5th Avenue, the area’s busiest road. The crater, measuring 20 feet (six meters) deep and 20 feet across, has become a neighborhood attraction.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” one man told WCBS reporters. “This is really crazy.”

Source

https://www.rt.com/usa/311579-brooklyn-sinkhole-/

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/08/06/school-bus-sinkhole-bronx/

School Bus With Special Needs Students Gets Trapped In Sinkhole In The Bronx

Big sinkhole in Colo. Springs getting bigger

http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/2015/08/11/colorado-springs-s...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - City officials say a large sinkhole in northwest Colorado Springs is getting bigger.

Aaron Egbert, a civil engineer with the city, tells The Gazette the sinkhole opened on North Chestnut Street after heavy rain Monday and was last measured at 25 feet deep, 15 feet wide and 25 feet long. He added that the area is extremely unstable, and it's unclear when repairs will be completed.

Additional rainfall is anticipated over the next few days.

The road is closed to vehicles, and pedestrians and cyclists are being asked to stay out of the area.

Second Sinkhole Opens Up In East Boston

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/08/11/east-boston-sinkhole-water-ma...

BOSTON (CBS) — A second sinkhole popped up in East Boston overnight, causing more trouble for residents Tuesday morning.
The sinkholes were spurred a 10-inch water main break on Cottage Street on Monday evening, which flooded some homes and cars.
Photos taken by Boston firefighters showed a car that had to be pulled out of the initial sinkhole.
There was still lots of repair work to be done on Tuesday, and water and gas service was shut off for some Cottage Street residents.

2nd giant Chinese sinkhole in 2 days swallows entire building (VIDEO)

https://www.rt.com/news/312341-sinkhole-china-building-collapse/

China has experienced one of its worst urban disasters of recent times. An entire building, together with the ground underneath, has collapsed and sunk into a massive hole.
The incident has occurred in Guangdong province, in Dongguan. Evidence of the monster disaster first appeared on LiveLeak in the early hours of Thursday.
The video shows the ground giving way suddenly, as the entire structure collapses onto itself and then downward. The incident took place at a construction site, local media reports.
What’s worse, the 300 square-meter hole that appeared is actually the second incident in just two days. Both holes are said to be at the area of a subway building site in the city of Dongguan, according to the South China Morning Post.

This second hole is said to have appeared at 10am local time on Thursday, according to Guangdong’s local Southern Metropolis News, as cited by the Post.

Multiple Vehicles Consumed in Wisconsin Road Failure (Aug 14)

About 300 residents have evacuated an apartment complex in Madison, Wisconsin, after a water pipe broke, causing gas leak concerns and creating a sinkhole that swallowed several vehicles.

Madison Fire Department spokeswoman Cynthia Schuster says emergency personnel were called to the River’s Edge Apartments shortly before 5 a.m. Friday.

Schuster says the department is monitoring the complex for explosive gases and that water service has been turned off at all four buildings.

Several vehicles were submerged or partially submerged in the water-filled sinkhole.

The State Journal says residents were asked to leave two of the buildings in which the power was cut off.

Source

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/water-pipe-break-causes-ma...

Fifteen-foot sinkhole opens at Baxter Street business

By JIM THOMPSONupdated Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - 12:16am

Massive Florida sinkhole that swallowed a man reopens

In February 2013, the sinkhole first formed under Jeff Bush's bedroom in the town of Seffner as he turned in for the night. He screamed out for help to his brother Jeremy, who ran into the bedroom to see that Bush and all his furnishings had vanished into the earth.

Jeff Bush's remains were never recovered.

On Wednesday, the sinkhole -- about 20 feet in diameter -- opened up again the Tampa suburb.

Hillsborough County sent an engineer by to evaluate potential dangers but authorities don't believe any residents are in danger. After it first opened two years ago, the county bought the property on top of the sink hole and the home next to it to make sure no one lived too close.

The new hole's only casualties have been the emotional toll taken on Bush's family. "It brings back memories," Jeremy Bush told CNN affiliate WFLA with tears in his eyes. "I think about it every day. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about it."

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/20/us/florida-sinkhole-seffner/ 

Large Sinkhole Opens Up In Downtown Lynn

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/08/21/large-sinkhole-opens-up-in-do...

LYNN (CBS) – It was an accident waiting to happen to create a seven-foot-deep sinkhole at the corner of Common and Shepard streets in Lynn.
When a woman drove right over the vulnerable spot, an accident was narrowly averted.
“I just saw a Honda Civic go right over it, and it caved in right after that,” said witness Connor Holland.
Gabriel Valerio was also nearby and watched it happen.
“She just passed by, and the whole thing collapsed. She was so lucky,” he said.
City officials say a sewer line broke, filling up with dirt and debris, and creating an enormous cavity nobody could have seen beneath the surface.
“It was big enough and void enough that someone going over it caused it to finally collapse,” said Mike Biasetti, a foreman with the city’s Water and Sewer Commission.
Goldean Graham drives over the spot every morning with her children and was left to wonder: what if that had been us?
“It leaves me breathless. I’m thankful someone was looking (out) for us this morning for sure.”

Mayor: Groveland sinkhole still growing, now 75-80 feet wide

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/lake/os-sinkhole-groveland-wate...

GROVELAND — A sinkhole that opened on Sunday and was about 45 feet wide by nightfall has grown to 75 to 80 feet across, Mayor Tim Loucks said today.
"It looks like it's still growing," Loucks said of the sinkhole near Iowa Avenue and East Waldo Street.

The first day of school is going on today as planned at Gray Middle School even though drinking water is not available due to a water-main break caused by the sinkhole, a school-district spokeswoman said. A boil-water notice remains in effect at the school at 205 E. Magnolia St.
Classes will continue as planned this morning, according to district spokeswoman Sherri Owens.

"Some news reports stated otherwise," she said. "Water is available for restroom use at the school, but bottled water is being brought in for students to drink and the district has made alternate provisions for food service."

Water was RESTORED early today, Loucks said, but many Groveland residents remain under the boil-water alert due to the sinkhole, which was reported about 1 p.m. Sunday. The boil-water alert will impact affect everyone living in the area between State Road 50 and Anderson Street, and between Lake Avenue and State Road 33.

"Several residents will be out of water in this area until the sink hole can be filled," police spokeswoman Sgt. Stephanie Crews she said in a statement. The Groveland Fire Department also will provide bottled water.

Sinkhole Opens Up on Kensington Street

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Sinkhole-Philadelphia-Ken...

Philadelphia - A large sinkhole opened up in a street in the Kensington section of the city Monday.
Officials say a 12-inch water main break caused a sinkhole to develop on the corner of Tulip and Huntingdon streets around 4 p.m. The intersection is closed as crews continue to make repairs.
Residents on the 2300 block of Huntingdon are currently without water.

Five people swallowed by massive sinkhole which opens up in pavement in shocking CCTV footage

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/five-people-swallowed-massi...

This is the dramatic moment five people fall into a massive sinkhole which opens up in the middle of the pavement.

The street beneath their feet swallows them and pulls four of them inside the large gap, while a fifth managing to hang on to a metal bar just below the surface.

Eyewitnesses can be seen in the dramatic CCTV gathering around the hole, reported to be around 10sq metres and two metres deep.

After a few minutes the fallen are helped back to the surface by those watching the event unfold.

All need hospital treatment for minor injuries.
The incident took place in the Heilongjiang Province of China on Saturday.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Just last week a giant sinkhole swallowed a road leaving a residential tower blocks on the brink of collapse.

One man died as the 300 square-metre hole collapsed as work on a subway line took place underground.

http://salfordonline.com/7517-mancunian-way-re-opened-after-sinkhol...

Mancunian Way re-opened after sinkhole collapsed road

Tue 1st September, 9:09 AM

The Mancunian Way link road in central Manchester has re-opened to traffic this morning after a huge 40ft sinkhole appeared in the carriageway.

Both lanes of the westbound carriageway were opened at 5am this morning, Tuesday 1 September, with a contraflow in place so traffic can move in both directions.

There is no date set yet for when the eastbound carriageway will re-open. Highways bosses are still asking drivers to find alternative routes where possible to take the pressure off the roadway.

Watch drone footage of the Mancunian Way sinkhole

The route was closed after heavy flooding on Friday 14 August overloaded a culvert running underneath the road, and the tarmac fell in on itself to reveal the deep hole.

Torrential storms that morning saw 20mm of rain fall in under three hours.

Emergency repairs have now been completed, Manchester City Council confirmed.

Councillor Kate Chappell, Manchester City Council’s executive member for the environment, said: “We have been working closely with United Utilities to make sure traffic can begin flowing as quickly as possible.

“Due to the ongoing nature of the roadworks we will be introducing a temporary 20mph speed limit and restricting larger vehicles on these lanes.

“We are expecting heavy traffic on the Mancunian Way so we are asking motorists to use alternative routes if possible in order to reduce congestion across the highway network.”

Third sinkhole opens up after road collapse in Salford,(Manchester UK) leads to gaping 16ft deep hole

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news...

Riverton landslide comes within 10 feet of home

Posted Sep 3rd, 2015 @ 10:25pm

RIVERTON — A landslide came within about 10 feet of a home Thursday afternoon, fire officials said.

A 30-by-30-foot slab of ground shifted about 20 feet down a sloping grass field separating two sections of homes near 1100 West and 125000 South, Unified Fire Authority paramedic Rob Morley said.

One homeowner will be displaced overnight as a precaution, Morley said.

The landslide came to rest about 10 feet from the back deck of a home, he said. The affected ground was "pretty moist," Morley said.

The slide occurred around 2 p.m. No homes sustained damage, and nobody was injured.

Riverton city engineers were still working Thursday night to determine the source of the water found in the landslide. The local homeowners association hired a private plumbing contractor to also examine possible sources, Morley said.

Firefighters believe the ground in the area was stabilized after the initial incident, meaning other landslides in the near future are unlikely. Engineers put stakes in the ground and measured their exact GPS coordinates and will do so again to detect any movement, Morley said.

McMinn County Dealing With A "Sinking Feeling" At Its Airport

http://www.newschannel9.com/news/top-stories/stories/mcminn-county-...

One Southeast Tennessee airport is bracing for what heavy rain might bring.

Not flooding, but sinkholes at the McMinn County airport. Sinkholes that may soon threaten landings and takeoffs.

From the air, what pilots coming into the McMinn County Airport are seeing as they land and take off are massive sinkholes alongside the adjacent taxiway where the earth has opened up. "East Tennessee has obviously got a lot of sinkholes" he says. "We're not far from the Lost Sea and we've always had sinkholes in East Tennessee."

Two years ago on the other side of the runway a sinkhole opened up right beside the taxiway. It was later filled in.

A year ago another one opened up near the first one and was also filled in. When a third one opened up McMinn County Mayor John Gentry figured something was wrong and asked TDOT's Division of Aeronautics for help. Before he could hear back a massive sinkhole opened up two months ago in the MIDDLE of the taxiway catching a light plane in the process.

"His landing gear got caught on the lip of the hole" Gentry says. "The plane never went into the sinkhole and it was kind of spun around."

Now there are nine sinkholes all next to each other alongside the taxiway, some with caverns. And all, creating questions. "Obviously the previous way we just treated each sinkhole as they came along" Gentry says. "We can't do that any longer. We think this is part of a larger system."

The runway is safe. Geological testing has shown no faults and dropoffs underneath its surface. But could there be in the future?

"We're not talking the San Andreas Fault here" says Gentry. "We're just talking about two bedrock systems that have come together near the runway."

The airport has blocked off the northern part of the taxi way where the sinkholes are to prevent planes from using it.

The long-term fix is going to be expensive, to the tune of several hundred thousand dollars.

Mayor Gentry says he hopes to get a grant through the state for that.

City engineers and staff to meet Tuesday to decide plan for bridge near giant sinkhole

http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/city-engineers-and-staff-to-meet-tuesday...

A giant sinkhole that opened up Friday on Ness Avenue near Sturgeon Creek could turn into a blessing in disguise for local residents waiting for construction to begin on a new bridge.
“Jaw-dropping. Wow. It’s huge,” said Darka Smith as she saw the sinkhole while walking her dog. “This is the exact path I take and that is exactly where I walk.”
Brent Mackie’s home sits only metres from where the hole opened up and he actually heard the ground give way during Friday’s heavy rainstorm.
“I heard this kaboom!” said Mackie. “A great big explosion type thing. And I came out into the living room and that's when I noticed the sinkhole had expanded."
Sturgeon Creek regularly floods in the springtime, forcing the closure of the bridge.
Locals have come to expect it every year.
"The bridge has been in rough shape for a long time,” said Smith. “And being over a creek, this creek spills its banks almost every year and it gets quite high.”
The bridge is slated to be replaced and construction was supposed to begin in January.

Sinkhole opens on busy Manchester road for second time in two months

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/sep/15/sinkhole-mancunian-w...

A large sinkhole has appeared on the Mancunian Way in Manchester for the second time in as many months, and the collapse could worsen, according to a council spokesman.

The westbound carriageway was closed hours before Manchester City’s Champions League game with Juventus at the Etihad stadium in nearby Eastlands. Motorists are advised to plan their route before the match.

The first crater appeared in August after heavy rainfall and was believed to have been caused by the erosion of a culvert beneath.
A spokesman for Manchester city council said the fresh sinkhole appeared in an area that was being excavated to repair the original highway collapse. He said it was possible that the hole could extend under the westbound carriageway.

“Motorists are being advised that the westbound carriageway of the Mancunian Way has been closed for safety reasons,” the spokesman said. “The westbound carriageway was recently reopened, with a contraflow enabling traffic to travel in both directions.

“We are working closely with United Utilities to make sure this can be made safe as an urgent priority, enabling repair work on the wider highway collapse to continue, and get the westbound carriageway reopened as quickly as possible. Diversions which have been in place since the end of August will remain and signing will be reinforced.”

http://strangesounds.org/2015/09/parking-lot-collapse-haikou-china-...

So what’s happening when our Planet Earth is in bad mood?

She starts devouring parking lots, cars and the ground.

A giant sinkhole has swallowed up a parking lot in Haikou, China. P...

On the same day than the massive M8.3 Chilean earthquake, Sept 16, 2015, a parking lot in Haikou, the capital of south China’s Hainan Province, collapsed due to a mini-landslide.

A few cars have been trapped in the mini-landslide. Photo: ChinaNew...

Cars have been swallowed by the Earth. But one seemed to have been more lucky as it is seen tilted on the edge.

Below the parking lot is a building construction site making the ground instable. Heavy rains from Typhoon Vamco didn’t help either filling the soil with water.

Greece travel chaos: Brits trapped at airport for 10 HOURS after 8-metre sinkhole opens up

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/607369/Greece-travel-chaos-Rhodes-...

Planes have been unable to land or take off from the island of Rhodes after a hole emerged.

Radio presenter Pippa Quelch, from Plymouth, Devon, was one of the Brits stranded at the airport.

She said passengers had been given a sandwich but had only had one hour's sleep overnight as they wait to find out how they can return to the UK.

Another Devon passenger waiting to fly home to Exeter airport confirmed they had suffered long delays.

Passengers took to Twitter to voice their discontent.
Phoebe Lang wrote: "Have you ever been stuck on a plane for 10 hours and diverted to Thessaloniki when Rhodes airport is SHUTDOWN?"

Debbie Cole wrote: "4hrs past flight time no firm plans announced, customers kept in the dark."

Farmer Ashley Jones, from Plymouth, tweeted : "Stranded in Rhodes, want to get back to Exeter airport."

Heavy rain caused the sinkhole to emerge and contractors took ten hours to fill the hole before the airport reopened at 8am yesterday

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3250475/A-car-caravan-campi...

'The whole beach was disappearing': Campers describe the terrifying moment they were forced to flee a massive sinkhole which suddenly opened up and swallowed their cars and caravans

• Giant sinkhole has swallowed vehicles near Queensland's Rainbow Beach
• Around 140 forced to evacuate after hole opened up at 11pm at Inskip Point
• Campers have described the terrifying moment they were forced to flee
• Police confirmed that no one has been reported missing or injured

Campers have described the terrifying moment they were forced to flee when a giant sinkhole the size of a football field suddenly opened up and swallowed their cars and caravans.

New footage has showed holidaymakers scrambling to save themselves when the 100m by 100m sinkhole opened up at around 11pm on Saturday near Queensland's Rainbow Beach.

Around 140 people were evacuated including several schoolchildren and one camper told Channel 7: 'The whole beach was disappearing, so I just managed to move my truck out of the way.'

The sinkhole expanded so rapidly at MV Beagle Campground, Inskip Point, that it took just minutes to swallow a car, caravan, luxury camping trailer and several tents - but no one was injured.

Scroll down for video  

A 100m by 100m sinkhole rapidly opened up at around 11pm on Saturday near Queensland's Rainbow Beach

One camper has relived the moment he saw his new $150,000 holiday home (pictured) and car disappear in the murky water

One camper has relived the moment he saw his new $150,000 holiday home and car disappear in the murky water after teetering on the edge for around 30 minutes.

'It was just eroding before our eyes, it was just falling away,' he said. 

Darren Chilton was asleep in his tent when he suddenly heard water lapping just inches away.

'The water was way back there around 10 or 15 metres away. You think you're alright and then there's suddenly water in your back yard.

'Then there was just mayhem with people trying to get stuff out.'

Holidaymaker Casey Hughes told ABC the sinkhole 'sounded like a thunder noise' as it opened up at the camping site near Fraser Island.

http://www.rt.com/uk/317187-st-albans-sinkhole-evacuation/

Massive sinkhole swallows suburban street, families evacuated

Published time: 1 Oct, 2015 11:53

Families in the quiet Hertfordshire cul-de-sac were shocked to find a sinkhole had swallowed up a chunk of their neighborhood.

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue appeared on the scene at 1.30am on Thursday morning after residents heard a crash in the night.

At least 10 people were taken to an evacuation center set up at nearby Batchwood Hall nightclub, according to the fire service.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOkfCsKthqw

The sinkhole started as a small hole in the road a few days ago, according to Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue service watch commander John Hudnott.

It was thought at the time the hole was caused by a leak in the water main.

“They had a sinkhole in Hemel [Hempstead] this year or last but I’ve never seen one like this,” he said.

“I have absolutely no idea how long it’s going to take to get the power back on. We thought it was the water leak, but now we’re not so sure.”

Gas, water and electricity supplies in the area have been turned off, leaving 58 houses without any utilities.

Some families are unable to return to their homes and are being rehoused by the local authority.

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said it was too early to say when residents could return to their homes.

“Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Services were called to the scene at 1.30am this morning,” a spokespersons aid.

“Overnight the county council’s resilience team swooped in and organized the evacuation. St Albans City and District Council set up an evacuation center at Batchwood Leisure Centre.”