Sinkholes
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Attention

'Doorway To The Underworld' in Siberia is rapidly growing in size

Trevor Nace
Forbes
Tue, 28 Feb 2017 19:49 UTC
Batagaika Crater in eastern Siberia
© Research Institute of Applied Ecology of the NorthBatagaika Crater in eastern Siberia
In the vast landscape of eastern Siberia there is a massive hole in the ground known as the "doorway to the underworld" triggered from climate change in the recent decades. The permafrost ground near the Yana River Basin has been warming lately, causing large scale changes in the local topography and ecology.

The tadpole-shaped crater, called the Batagaika crater, is known as a "megaslump" and is related to karsting triggered through permafrost melting. Currently, the crater measures 0.6 miles long and 282 feet deep. However, the crater's growth has increased recently prompting locals to nickname it the "doorway to the underworld" and to avoid the area.

Permafrost is ground which remains at or below freezing temperatures for more than two years. This is common in the high latitudes of Siberia where average yearly temperatures prevent warming of the ground to above freezing. Pore spaces within the soil contains trapped water, which in the case of northern latitudes can be frozen in place for thousands of years.

Comment: Mysterious Siberian crater, Batagaika, 'gateway to a subterranean world'

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Sinkhole swallows house in Khutsong, South Africa

Kyle Cowan
Times Live
Mon, 06 Mar 2017 13:17 UTC
House fell into a sinkhole in Khutsong in the early hours of this morning.
© Malungelo BooiHouse fell into a sinkhole in Khutsong in the early hours of this morning.
The ground beneath the homes of residents on the West Rand of Johannesburg is in danger of swallowing them whole.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, a massive sinkhole in Khutsong engulfed a house - fortunately no one was home at the time.

Several residents will be moved to emergency housing, while others have fled their homes after the Merafong Municipality identified at least 16 sinkholes in the area.

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Hardhat

Large sinkhole opens in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Joe Cavaretta
Sun-Sentinel
Mon, 27 Feb 2017 22:00 UTC
Ft. Lauderdale, FL sinkhole
© Joe Cavaretta/Sun SentinelSinhole formed just north of Davie Boulevard along 24th Avenue.
The sinkhole didn't swallow anybody or anything. But it was large enough to easily fit several full-sized adults inside.

The sinkhole that was spotted early Monday along Southwest 24th Avenue's frontage road, just north of Davie Boulevard, happened after a 6-inch water pipe below ground broke, officials said. By Monday afternoon the pipe had been repaired.

Crews from Fort Lauderdale and Florida's Department of Transportation are working to rebuild the concrete structure around the storm drain. It's likely that the travel lane where the sinkhole formed will be closed until Thursday, according to Matt Little, Fort Lauderdale spokesman.

The hole is too large to put a plate over it, Little said.

"We expect fill and pavement to be complete on Thursday depending on weather and delivery of materials," Little said.
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Huge sinkhole swallows SUV in Hoboken, New Jersey


nbcnewyork.com
Tue, 28 Feb 2017 20:23 UTC
A huge sinkhole swallowed an SUV after a water main break flooded streets in Hoboken Tuesday morning.
A huge sinkhole swallowed an SUV after a water main break flooded streets in Hoboken Tuesday morning.
A huge sinkhole swallowed an SUV after a 12-inch water main break flooded streets in Hoboken, New Jersey, Tuesday morning.

Chopper 4 showed the muddied red SUV on its side as workers stood around the waterlogged pit on Willow Avenue between Fifth and Sixth avenues just before 7:30 a.m. No one was in the vehicle; it had apparently been submerged and workers only noticed it once the water receded.

Utility company Suez was investigating the break. It said no customers were without water by 9:30 a.m., and repairs were expected to be completed by early afternoon.

Streets were shut down in the area as crews worked to repair the main. Some NJ Transit bus service was rerouted.

The cause of the break is under investigation.

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Sinkhole swallows snowplow in Sioux City, Iowa

Alex Boisjolie
Sioux City Journal.
Fri, 24 Feb 2017 14:40 UTC
Sinkhole
© Alex Boisjolie
A Sioux City snowplow was swallowed by a street sinkhole Friday afternoon.

The street caved around 4:30 p.m. while the dump truck was traveling eastbound at the intersection of Pierce and 30th streets.

The back of the truck was filled with sand and had to be lifted out of the hole by a crane while another tow truck pulled it forward.

There were no injuries reported.
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20-foot wide sinkhole closes street in Toronto


City News
Fri, 24 Feb 2017 14:24 UTC
Sinkhole
A street in Toronto's west end is closed to traffic while crews work to repair a sinkhole that opened up on Friday afternoon.

It happened around 4:30 p.m., police were called to Morningside Avenue, near South Kingsway and south of Bloor Street West.

When police arrived, they found a sinkhole 20 feet wide and five feet deep, where a truck had become trapped. No injuries were reported.

Officers said a watermain break may have caused the road to cave in.
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Large sinkhole opens in Oahu, Hawaii neighborhood

Jobeth Devera
Hawaii News Now
Sun, 19 Feb 2017 21:59 UTC
Kaneohe sinkhole
© Hawaii News Now
A large sinkhole split open Saturday night in a Kaneohe neighborhood, injuring one woman.

Sean Ishol said he and his wife were leaving their home around 6 p.m., when the grass alongside their driveway caved in. "My wife went to go get in her side of the car and she fell through," said Ishol.

Ishol canceled plans and took her straight to the hospital. Doctors recommended she will probably need to go see an orthopedic specialist to get an MRI done and make sure there's no torn ligaments," he said.

Fortunately no bones were broken, but extra medical expenses are an added worry for the couple who is in the process of moving to the mainland. Doctors also told his wife she will need to wear a leg brace.
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Bizarro Earth

One rescued after sinkhole swallows 2 cars in Studio City, California


Los Angeles Daily News
Fri, 17 Feb 2017 15:53 UTC
Studio City sinkhole
© Rick McClure/Los Angeles Daily NewsTwo cars rest at the bottom of a sinkhole that opened up on Woodbridge Street near Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Studio City on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017.
Two vehicles fell into a 20-foot sinkhole in Studio City today and firefighters had to rescue one woman who escaped her car but was found standing on her overturned vehicle.

Firefighters arrived shortly after 8:15 p.m. at 4245 N. Laurel Canyon Blvd., two blocks south of Moorpark Street, to find one car upside-down in a large dark sinkhole full of rushing water, said Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The single occupant was standing on the car, approximately 10 feet below street level, Scott said.

"Firefighters jumped into action and rapidly lowered a (20-foot) extension ladder down to the (48-year-old woman) allowing her to climb out, and transported her to a local hospital in fair condition," Scott said.
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Attention

Huge sinkhole shuts down street in northeast Washington State

Allison Sundell
King5
Fri, 17 Feb 2017 06:31 UTC
Lyndon sinkhole
© King5
A massive sinkhole shut down a section of North 8th Street in Lynden Thursday.

Residents noticed a small hole forming on North 8th Street about 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, and by the morning, it was halfway through the street, according to Lynden Mayor Scott Korthuis.

North 8th Street is closed between Pine and Ivy Streets.

A culvert under the street failed, and crews had to remove the sidewalk and a portion of the street, according to Korthuis. "The pipe has probably been in the ground for 40 years. That pipe started to rust and fail. The water got under the pipe and started to wash out the dirt, and that started the sinkhole," said Korthuis.

The sinkhole is about 30 feet wide and ten feet deep. The water channel is about 10 feet wide and has washed out about 90 feet of land.
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Dig

20-meter deep sinkhole swallows part of road in Vladivostock, Russia


RT
Tue, 14 Feb 2017 22:12 UTC
Vladistock sinkhole
© Ruptly
A vast sinkhole estimated to be 15 meters wide and 20 meters deep has caused a major road collapse in the city of Vladivostok in Russia's Far East.

The incident took place during excavation works while a building was being constructed, the local administration said on its website.

People at the nearby Seaside Regional Institute of Education Development were evacuated following the collapse. The collapsed part of the road was cordoned off by police.


"It all happened during a lunch break... We heard a loud noise and looked in the window - a concrete wall collapsed in the abyss [on the road]. Then a big sinkhole began to form on the road," an eyewitness told TASS.
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