Sinkhole Incidents On the Rise

[Howard]

"Stretch zones primarily experience sinking ground, as the support in the rock strata is stretched thin. Thus, buildings implode and gas and water mains break."  ZetaTalk

 

 

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ZetaTalk

What happens to rock layers under a diagonal pull, or being pulled apart? As can be seen during recent years, this has resulted in derailing trains, sinkholes suddenly appearing, gas and water main breaks, torn roadways and separating bridges. Despite the effect on man, crawling about on the surface of what they assume to be terra firma, these changes are superficial. When the pulling starts, weak points break and thereafter the plumbing and roadways hold, giving the impression that the pulling has stopped, but this is misleading. The North American continent is giving evidence that its rock layers are separating from each other, and sliding sideways in a diagonal, thus exposing portions of these layers to vent into the air above. If rock is being stressed, then where are the earthquake predictors giving evidence of this, the frantic animals, the static on the radio, the earthquake swarms? Rock in the stretch zone, pulling apart rather than compressing, does not emit the particles flows that animals and radios sense, nor register on instruments are tension and release quakes.

 

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ZetaTalk

"We have repeatedly stated that the Earth changes will not diminish, but will increase going into the pole shift.

This is not a lineal matter, as the closer Planet X comes to Earth, an inevitable path, the more the torque effect and the polar wobble where the N Pole of Earth is pushed away violently on a daily basis, occur. The wobble will become more pronounced, more violent. The plates are tugged back West of the Atlantic, pulled forward East of the Atlantic, during the daily rotation of the Earth. The North American continent is allowed to roll East during rotation while the S Pole is pulled West, creating the diagonal pull likely to trigger the New Madrid fault line into an adjustment, and soon. The N Pole is pushed away and allowed to bounce back, daily, as the Earth rotates, a wobble that puts stress on all fault lines when the plates are suddenly in motion, and suddenly stopped!

"As there is no other explanation for the effect on the stretch zone, lacking any earthquakes to blame, and as these stretch zone accidents will continue to emerge, and with ferocity, this is a certain clue to those on the fence, that the influence of Planet X is the cause. Or is it Global Warming?" 

ZetaTalk Chat Q&A for April 13, 2013

"Sinkholes almost invariably form in areas subject to karst limestone cavern formation. Underground water flows eat away the limestone leaving vast caverns and caves, which often give scant indication above ground that a cavern lies below. Karst limestone rock formations have been mapped and are known, however, but since one never knows just where a cavern might have formed, this provides little help in predicting just where a sinkhole might form. Sinkholes open up when the rock is fractured due to stress from being in the stretch zone, from the bending of a plate, or due to torsion."

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[Yvonne Lawson]

'Rome is now Europe's sinkhole capital'

Rome has been declared the European capital of sinkholes thanks to a network of ancient Roman and medieval tunnels that have caused the city's streets to be consumed by giant chasms.

There are fears growing in Rome about the speed that the underground tunnels and quarries are causing collapses, as there are average of 100 sinkholes appearing every year, according to The Times.

Earlier this week, two parked cars, a Mercedes SUV and a Smart car, shockingly disappeared into a six-metre-deep and 20-metre-long chasm in the Torpignattara district.

The sinkhole is only the latest in a long line of 'disastrous' collapses across the capital of Italy, as an eight-foot chasm appeared in May last year, while a huge 30ft sinkhole also notably swallowed six cars back in 2018.

Sinkholes have been a common phenomenon in Rome, with over 100 openings recorded in 2019, and 175 in 2018. 

Read more:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9629023/Fears-grow-100-cha...   

[KM]

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-new...

House fronts collapse into street after sinkhole appears... hours after car 'swallowed' - LIVE updates

Emergency services are at the scene in Abbey Hey

Front of houses collapse into street after sinkhole appears in Abbey Hey

House fronts have fallen into the street after a sewer collapsed in Manchester.

The front of two houses have collapsed thanks to the sinkhole, with four properties in total affected in Walmer Street, Abbey Hey. A large emergency services scene is in place.

Nobody has been injured.

In a statement, a United Utilities spokesperson said: "United Utilities are dealing with a collapsed sewer on Walmer Street in Abbey Hey.

The scene on Walmer Street, Abbey Hey

"This has caused the road to partially collapse causing significant damage to some homes in close proximity.

"Thankfully everyone is safe and nobody has been injured.

"A decision was made to relocate residents of four properties and they have been found alternative accommodation.”

Earlier in the evening, a car had been 'swallowed' by the sinkhole.

It comes as thousands of properties in Manchester had to be evacuated overnight due to rising river levels as Storm Christoph hit the region. Follow our live flooding updates from across the region here.

A reporter is at the scene.

Part of the road has collapsed in Walmer Street in Gorton (Image: Twitter/@breadlineblues)

Follow our live blog below for the latest updates and photos from Abbey Hey.

Get breaking news first on the free Manchester Evening News app - download it here for your Apple or Android device. You can also get a round-up of the biggest stories sent direct to your inbox every day with the MEN email newsletter - subscribe here. And you can follow us on Facebook here.

Pictures from the scene this evening

Emergency services at the scene after a house collapses in Abbey Hey (Image: Manchester Evening News)

Emergency services at the scene after a house collapses in Walmer Street, Abbey Hey

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Thousands of fish washed onto fields after sinkhole appears in cana...

Thousands of fish washed onto fields after sinkhole appears in canal

Volunteers jumped into action to plug the huge leak

• 20:13, 3 DEC 2020

"Over the last two days we've found that thousands of fish were washed out across four or five fields, some as big as 20lb.

"A few hundred have been saved - some were big fish surviving in just inches of water. There were ponds that had formed in some tractor tracks that were full of about 60 fish - perch, bream, pike and all sorts.

"Yesterday I was helping get them out and put them back into the canal. There were some four fields away from the canal that were still alive and have been saved.

"I was down there Monday afternoon and yesterday and there have been hundreds of dead fish piled up for removal. There are already 21 black bin bags full of dead fish

"The scale of it is beyond comprehension."

He said that while the planks used to stop the canal flooding were still in place, the water appeared to be leaking through and he feared more fish could be washed out into the fields over the coming days as repair work takes place.

Leicestershire County Council has said its engineers are working to carry out the repairs as quickly as possible

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/civic/cave-in-at-mahim-j...

Cave-in at Mahim junction, traffic disrupted 
Oct 13, 2020, 06:00 IST

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Wales

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-54368241

Sinkhole stretching width of Gower main road found

• 1 October 2020

A sinkhole has been discovered that has left a main road in Swansea in danger of collapsing.

The hole, underneath the South Gower Road's surface, stretches across the carriageway, which has been shut because of a "risk of imminent collapse", Swansea council said.

It is shut between Penmaen and the turn-off to Oxwich.

Brian Williams, who owns a nearby business, said the hole had been developing for 40 years.

Traffic is being diverted via Cefn Bryn and the North Gower Road.

"For many years this has been on the move, I've thought it must be going under the road," Mr Williams told BBC Radio Wales.

"It's subsided many times, they kept filling it with material this time they've discovered there is a void under the road.

"Now and again motorists have felt a little bump going over it."

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article246001030.html

20-foot sinkhole sent coal ash into Lake Norman-area creek, NC investigators say

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020 07:00 AM

https://www.sunherald.com/news/health/article227303784.html

North Carolina environmental officials are investigating the release of sediment containing coal ash from a 20-foot-deep sinkhole beside a major Lake Norman-area road.

The sinkhole re-emerged Sept. 17 in a parking lot outside of a tire and auto-repair shop on N.C. 150 (West Plaza Drive) just east of Interstate 77 in Mooresville.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has known about the sinkhole and has been monitoring it since July 2019, according to a department news release this week announcing the sinkhole reappeared.

“The parking lot is built on a documented coal ash structural fill,” officials said in the release, adding that the property owner previously repaired it in 2018 and 2019.

The sinkhole reopened Sept. 17 after the collapse of a stream culvert pipe under the fill, the department said. The pipe collapsed during heavy rains, officials said.

A department spokeswoman did not respond when The Charlotte Observer requested the owner’s name but did provide the address of the sinkhole property, 190 W. Plaza Drive.

Metal plates covered the sinkhole when an Observer reporter visited the site during a torrential rainstorm Friday. A backhoe and loader sat at the site outside a Tire Masters auto shop.

Shop manager Chris Medford told the Observer in a phone interview that he was complying with all sinkhole safety and repair measures recommended by the state, including placing the metal plates over the hole. He said he would have to consult his attorney before commenting further.

After the Sept. 17 storms, state inspectors saw sediment containing coal ash in the stream bed of an unnamed nearby tributary, according to the Department of Environmental Quality. “DEQ staff collected water quality samples from the stream and is conducting ongoing monitoring,” officials said in the release.

The department also alerted Iredell County and N.C. emergency management officials about the sinkhole, as well as N.C. Department of Transportation officials. The state DOT plans to expand N.C. 150 near the sinkhole eventually, according to the Department of Environmental Quality.

“There is no ongoing release of ash,” department spokeswoman Laura Leonard told the Observer in an email Friday. “It is important to note that what was released was a mixture of soil with dry, compacted ash. The DEQ staff estimated that around 125 cubic yards of material – soil and ash combined – was released based on the size of the sinkhole.”

Repairing the sinkhole “will take time, and DEQ staff are still evaluating the site to determine the specific nature of remediation efforts needed,” Leonard said.

She said placing the four metal plates across the sinkhole was a temporary measure by the property owner.

“Staff are discussing with the property owner ways to secure the site to prevent/limit additional release until a long-term repair remedy is determined and implemented, and to remove any release material from the stream,” Leonard said.

She said the department “is considering all next steps for the responsibility of this situation. Any decision on the issuance of penalty would be based on the facts of DEQ’s investigation.”

The state has used coal ash structural fill as part of “stable base layers for roads, bridges, airfields and large buildings across the state,” according to the Department of Environmental Quality website.

“Coal ash was widely used because it is considered stronger and easier to work with than other materials,” officials say on the site. “The availability and often low cost of coal ash made the product attractive to developers and landowners, especially during the 1980s and 1990s.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates coal ash, according to its website, because it contains such contaminants as mercury, cadmium and arsenic that, “without proper management can pollute waterways, ground water, drinking water, and the air.”

[M. Difato]

Mysterious, deep "blue hole" discovered in Gulf coast

Florida is known for its programs exploring the deep reaches of space, but it's something deep under the sea that's drawing researchers to our state next month.

 Credit: AJ GONZALEZ / MOTE MARINE LABORATORY / NOAA

ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — Divers and fisherman in Florida's Gulf Coast recently discovered a 425-foot "blue hole" similar to sinkholes on nearby land. The hole has been dubbed the Green Banana. It's located about 155 feet below the water's surface, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Next month, a group of researchers will begin searching the mysterious hole for signs of life. NOAA says there are many underwater sinkholes, springs and caverns scattered across Florida's Gulf continental shelf. It's not clear how many exist or where to find them, but most are believed to host booming populations of a wide variety of plants and animals.  

Researchers with the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota think the hole likely formed roughly 8,000 to 12,000 years ago, when the Florida coastline was about 100 miles further offshore. Fisherman and divers who frequent the waters say they've been curious about the holes for decades.

RELATED: Mote plans groundbreaking for new aquarium

"It was more like word of mouth... these divers would go out and try to find it, and they had plenty of days where they didn't find anything and other days where, 'Eureka! There's a hole!'" Researcher Emily Hall, a staff scientist and program manager at Mote Marine Laboratory, told CBS News.

Fellow program manager at Mote and senior scientist Jay Cutler say he's discovered about 20 holes in the region since he first started looking during dives in the mid-1990s.

"You always want to go down a little bit more. Every square foot it's like, 'I wonder what's down deeper and deeper,'" Culter told CBS News. "It is exciting to get to go to someplace where you're pretty sure no one else has been." 

Mote researchers were part of a team who explored a similar blue hole last year, a 350-foot deep hole known as Amberjack. The team, which included scientists with the Harbor Branch of Florida Atlantic University, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the U.S. Geological Society plan to return to the Gulf Coast in August and May 2021 to study Green Banana. The 2019 mission was supported by the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. It marked the most in-depth blue hole investigations ever conducted. After deploying divers and more than 600 pounds of equipment into Amberjack Hole, the team found carbon, nutrients and microscopic life lurking inside. Researchers even found two tooth sawfish -- an endangered species.

Along with looking for new species, researchers hope next month's Green Banana mission could explain how the holes impact the global carbon cycle. Scientists want to see if there's a link between those sinkholes and Florida's groundwater. The team says that could determine whether or not to make the holes protected areas.

Source: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/researchers-heading-to-fl-t...

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2020/07/17/mariner-east-pi...

More sinkholes develop alongside Mariner East construction in Chester County

Residents are asking the Public Utility Commission to shut down construction.

JULY 17, 2020 | 4:17 PM

Sinkholes and land subsidence have developed alongside Sunoco’s Mariner East pipeline construction in West Whiteland Township, Chester County. About half a dozen sinkholes along the pipeline’s path began appearing June 13, close to active pipelines carrying natural gas liquids, a pipeline valve station and a public hiking trail, according to local officials.

The most recent subsidence occurred Friday afternoon, with growing cracks on the busy Route 30, near a sinkhole that had developed last week, according to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

The PUC’s Safety Division of the Bureau of Investigation & Enforcement is on-site and conducting an investigation.

“No active pipelines were exposed as a result of the subsidences and engineers from the Safety Division continue to closely monitor the situation,” according to a statement released Friday afternoon by the PUC.

The PUC says it is in contact with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and PennDot.

All of the sinkholes have been filled with cement, according to Township manager Mimi Gleason. Gleason says pipeline builder Energy Transfer, formerly known as Sunoco Logistics, continues to conduct testing and has an employee walking the area around the clock to check for any newly formed sinkholes or subsidence.

The PUC says the company is using ground penetrating radar three times a day near the roadway and the hiking trail to detect any new subsidence.

“The Township is very concerned,” said Gleason. “We’re glad the PUC is requiring additional testing to make sure the infrastructure is safe going forward.”

Gleason says Energy Transfer finished the underground drilling needed to install the pipeline, and reported the drill went through “very hard rock.”

The area around Exton is known for its limestone, or karst, geology, which is soft and porous. The state issued permits for the pipeline in 2017, despite warnings by Department of Environmental Protection employees that the area’s geology could trigger sinkholes.

Gleason says Energy Transfer also discovered a void 30 feet below the surface, which it filled with cement. It’s unclear whether that void existed before construction, or was caused by it, she said. The Township says it is now safe to use the Chester Valley Trail, which had been closed.

The company will continue to use geophysical testing and ground penetrating radar to locate any other voids or sinkholes that could impact the pipelines or nearby roadways, said Gleason.

Township resident Ginny Kerslake says she watched workers use a cement truck to fill one of the sinkholes near Lincoln Highway last Friday, July 10. After the sinkhole was filled and she planned to leave the site, she noticed another sink hole had developed by the nearby the valve station.

“All of a sudden there was a flurry of activity,” said Kerslake. “The cement truck came back and men were using wheel barrows to fill it. I lost count of how many wheel barrows of grout they put in there.”

On Monday, Kerslake noticed workers filling another nearby sinkhole.

Kerslake is a member of a local watch-dog group, Del-Chesco United for Public Safety, which has asked the Public Utility Commission to shut down the operating pipelines and halt construction while it conducts the investigation.

“They really should be shutting it down,” she said.  “It’s almost as if everyone is crossing their fingers.”

It’s not the first time West Whiteland Township is dealing with sinkholes. In early 2018 sinkholes developed on Lisa Drive, leading the PUC to halt construction and the operation of the nearby Mariner East 1 pipeline. At the time the PUC said it could be “catastrophic” if the exposed pipeline leaked and led to an explosion.

Several months later, the PUC determined it was safe to re-open the pipelines, which carry natural gas liquids from the Marcellus Shale fields in western Pennsylvania to an export terminal in Delaware County.

“Sunoco continues to try to rush this export project through without regard for the potential for a disaster in the heart of Exton,” said Eric Friedman of Del-Chesco United. “These sinkholes are an invitation to a catastrophe.”

Friedman says the lives of nearby residents are in danger. The group also asked the county to to file an emergency petition with the PUC.

Natural gas liquids are more dangerous than methane. If NGL pipelines leak, the liquid turns into a gas once it is exposed to air. The gas is heavier than air and sinks to the ground, making it highly volatile and risking an explosion.

Energy Transfer did not respond to several requests for comment.

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/walsall/2020/05/21/h...

Huge sinkhole appears in Walsall road

The hole opened up in Stafford Street where part of the road had been seen to be gradually sinking in recent days at the junction with Proffitt Street.
The road has been closed and Severn Trent is investigating whether a collapsed sewer caused the road to give way.
The hole is directly outside Tyre City, which had only reopened on Monday due to coronavirus and has now had to close for up to two weeks again. 

Manager Sean Dickenson said he could see the ground sinking and ran into the road to stop an oncoming Transit van which had to swerve out of the way before the hole opened up.
He explained: "We opened up on Monday and noticed there was a dip in the road. The cars were bouncing.
"Day by day it's been getting worse then this morning we were sitting here and could see the road sinking.
"Then the council came and put some signs up saying slow down.
"We were watching the road dip and all of a sudden a Transit van drown down and I had to run and stop it before the road caved in.
"He had to swerve on the pavement."  story continues...

[Starr DiGiacomo]

https://www.therandolphleader.com/news/article_eddd8010-79b1-11ea-a...

Sinkhole closes LaFayette Hwy bridge 'indefinitely'
Apr 8, 2020

Drivers using LaFayette Highway to travel between Main Street and Highway 431 in Roanoke will have to find an alternate route for the foreseeable future.
The city of Roanoke closed LaFayette Highway Friday night at the bridge that spans the railroad tracks due to a large hole that had opened up at the seam between the asphalt pavement and the bridge on the north end.
The ground underneath the pavement eroded leaving a small chasm that eventually caused the pavement to collapse.

That left a gap of about a foot and a half between the edge of the bridge and the other end of the hole. The hole was about 3 feet wide and swallowed up the double stripe in the middle of that portion of the road.
The hole was first reported by a Roanoke resident on the resident's Facebook page Friday, and by Friday night the city had closed the road at the bridge.

The city is responsible for the repairs. ALDOT inspected the damage Monday along with city officials to determine the nature of the repairs needed.
But before work can proceed, the city will have to accept bids, open them and select a contractor. Those are all steps that must be taken during official city council meetings, a process complicated by the fact that the council has no scheduled meetings in April due to statewide coronavirus related limitations on gatherings.
That means it could be months before the road is reopened to thru traffic.
"The road is going to be closed indefinitely until we can get everyone together and start the process," said Roanoke city clerk Patricia Truitt.
The city placed temporary barricades on either end of the bridge, and by Monday afternoon those were augmented by a dump truck on one end and a backhoe on the other