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Huge sinkhole appears at landfill site in Virginia Beach, Virginia

Mary Beth Gahan
The Virginian-Pilot
Tue, 11 Oct 2016 11:01 UTC
Sinkhole
© Virginia Beach Public Works
The city landfill is closed until further notice after heavy rain and flooding from Hurricane Matthew created a Grand Canyon of sorts there.

Water filled up a quarter-mile ditch that runs around the site off Centerville Turnpike, then spilled over into a borrow pit and caused "extensive damage," according to the Department of Public Works.

The ditch, which used to be 4 feet deep, now bottoms out at 30 feet.

A concrete-block bathroom was washed away, along with an exit road at the landfill and eight sections of 36-inch pipe. A pump that was in the pit has disappeared. An excavator and a horizontal grinder - two large pieces of construction equipment - are submerged up to their cabs.

Electricity has been shut off at the site, and the city has dammed up the water going into the borrow pit to slow the flow, said Drew Lankford, public works spokesman. Extra pumps have been added to drain the pit. The road will also need to be repaired.

"It's going to be several days before we're up and running," Lankford said.

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Huge sinkhole opens on Miami Beach, Florida


WSVN
Fri, 07 Oct 2016 11:40 UTC
Miami sinkhole
© WSVN
Crews have repaired a water main break that caused a sinkhole on Miami Beach, Friday morning.

It remains unknown if it was caused by the severe weather experienced in Miami-Dade, Thursday.

The sinkhole is located on 41st Street and Royal Palm Avenue, near the Julia Tuttle Causeway.

Crews repaired the leak quickly, but only one eastbound lane is open along 41st Street, heading towards the beach, as repairs to the road continues Friday afternoon.

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Seven-meter deep sinkhole discovered near public school in Central Visayas, Philippines

Justin K. Vestil
Sun Star Cebu
Fri, 07 Oct 2016 13:44 UTC
Sinkhole. Residents of Barangay Bugas in Badian town in southern Cebu are baffled by the sight of a seven-meter deep hole on the ground after heavy rains.
© RBA AeriaSinkhole. Residents of Barangay Bugas in Badian town in southern Cebu are baffled by the sight of a seven-meter deep hole on the ground after heavy rains.
A seven-meter deep sinkhole was found a few meters from a public elementary school in Barangay Bugas, Badian town earlier this week.

Due to the presence of the sinkhole in Sitio Purok 2, Barangay Bugas, officials of Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 urged residents to stay away from the area while the ground there is unstable.

Eulalio Raboy, Barangay Bugas chief, told reporters that the sinkhole was first sighted by residents last Tuesday.

The sinkhole, with a depth of seven meters and a width of three meters, was found a few meters from Barangay Bugas Elementary School.

Luckily, the sinkhole has not affected any school structure or any house nearby, Raboy added.
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Sinkhole swallows car, passengers in Adelaide Hills, Australia


BBC
Wed, 05 Oct 2016 17:09 UTC
Suzuki-in-a-sinkhole
© Jordanna Schriever
A South Australian couple were left "shaken" after they and their car were swallowed by a 3m-wide sinkhole.

According to local residents, the driver and passenger were sitting inside the car taking in the view in the Adelaide Hills when the earth gave way underneath them.

The vehicle is believed to have been parked above an abandoned mine shaft, excavated more than 150 years ago. SA Police said the pair were shocked but not seriously injured.

They managed to get out of the car themselves. Council workers arrived on Wednesday to remove the vehicle with a crane. Local woman Helen Behrens told The Advertiser newspaper said the couple had knocked on her door on Tuesday saying they had had an accident.

"They were pretty shaken up. They phoned the police and as soon as they got here," she said.
A neighbour, Neville Sharpe, also told the newspaper the couple were quite distressed.

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Massive sinkhole, water main break and gas leak leads to evacuations in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; 3 homes condemned


69 News
Thu, 29 Sep 2016 21:50 UTC
Bethlhem sinkhole
© Lehigh Valley Live
Thousands of people were left in the dark and several blocks were evacuated early Thursday morning after the 911 caller indicated a water main break and smelled gas near the 700 block of New Street. Since then, power has been restored in most places and several people have been allowed back into their homes in the area, except for those who live near or along the 700 block of New Street.

The fire chief said because of the nature of the sinkhole some buildings on the 700 block of New Street are "off-limits" for safety reasons. While three homes were condemned, a city fire official said on Thursday night they're monitoring other homes, too. "Nobody will be going in those homes on either the east or the west side of that street because they're still making sure that the ground underneath is going to be stabilized," said Bethlehem Fire Chief Robert Novatnack.
Bethlehem sinkhole
© Lehigh Valley Live
Clifford Anderson, who rents an apartment in one of the impacted homes, retrieved some belongings after firefighters escorted him inside. "I just got to get a suitcase and get out of here for a few days," said Anderson.

Several crews, including city departments and UGI, were on the scene all day investigating what happened first: the gas leak, water main break, or the sinkhole. At this point, there's no clear answer. Novatnack described the sinkhole almost as if it were a cavern. "Well, it's in the middle of the street and undermined pretty far," said Novatnack. "They'll be jackhammering and taking out part ofthe macadam and concrete until they find the end of it. They're not there yet," said Novatnack on Thursday afternoon.

The big problems created a rude awakening for residents along New Street. "The fireman came pounding on my door about quarter to 8 in the morning saying they were evacuating," said Linda Groff, who quickly left her home with her small dog.
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Five sinkholes open within two days in Hyderabad, India


Deccan Chronicle
Fri, 23 Sep 2016 07:19 UTC
Sinkhole in Hyderabad, India
© Deccan Chronicle A fresh road cave-in at King Koti. So far, five sinkholes have appeared across the city.
Three more sinkholes opened up on Thursday, taking the total to five after just two days of rain. A one-metre diameter sinkhole opened up on the road opposite HDFC Bank in Basheerbagh and another one on the road at King Koti.

Earlier in the day, a four-foot deep sinkhole formed on the Shivam Road near Amberpet on Thursday, the third after two days of rain following the ones on NTR Marg and at Neredmet.

A tanker-trolley got stuck in the Shivam Road sinkhole at about 6 am on Thursday, and was cleared using two large cranes at about noon. The accident caused a massive traffic jam and congestion along the busy road from Osmania University to Amberpet. Traffic police barricaded the sinkhole, even as emergency repairs were being undertaken.

At Basheerbagh, Narayanaguda traffic inspector A. Balaji said he and his team had barricaded the sinkholes. "The road at Basheerbagh is a busy route. We have diverted traffic from one side of the road. GHMC and water works officials will begin repairs from Friday morning," he said.

About the massive NTR Marg sinkhole that had opened up on Wednesday, Sewerage and Water Board MD M. Dana Kishore said six teams had been set up to reduce water flow into the site.

Emergency response teams have been posted at the sinkhole itself. Infrastructure Repairs will begin after the flow of water stops. Another sinkhole had opened at Neredmet on Wednesday.

Comment: Sinkholes: The groundbreaking truth

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Blue Planet

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


The Siberian Times
Wed, 18 May 2016 12:00 UTC
Batagaika crater, Siberia
© Alexander GabyshevBatagaika started to form in 1960s after a chunk of forest was cleared: the land sunk, and has continued to do so, evidently speeded by recent warmer temperatures melting the permafrost.
Locals hear 'booms from the underworld' in giant ravine but now scientists say it holds secrets of the planet's past.

Many Yakutian people are said to be scared to approach the Batagaika Crater - also known as the Batagaika Megaslump: believing in the upper, middle and under worlds, they see this as a doorway to the last of these.

The fearsome noises are probably just the thuds of falling soil at a landmark that is a one kilometre-long gash up to 100 metres (328 feet) deep in the Siberian taiga.

Batagaika started to form in 1960s after a chunk of forest was cleared: the land sunk, and has continued to do so, evidently speeded by recent warmer temperatures melting the permafrost, so unbinding the layers on the surface and below. Major flooding in 2008 increased the size of the depression which grows at up to 15 metres per year.

Batagaika crater, Siberia cliff face
© Julian MurtonFace of the Batagaika crater, Siberia

Comment: See also:

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Berea, South Africa residents shocked to discover large sinkhole developed overnight

Lorna Charles
Berea Mail
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 21:14 UTC
Glenwood, SA sinkhole
© Berea Mail
Glenwood residents and motorists driving along Che Guevara (Moore) Road on Tuesday morning were in for lengthy traffic delays on the busy road where a sinkhole developed overnight.

According to a resident at the Newton Place cul-de-sac, Dalone Jansen, he went across the road to buy pizza between 9 and 10pm and there was no sign of the sinkhole. "It was fine when I came home last night so it must have happened in the middle of the night. There was complete chaos this morning when people were trying to get out of our road to get to work. I'm lucky, I'm waiting for a ride to work so wasn't affected," he said.

About 7.30am all the cars on the tiny one-way-road were backed up. "Drivers were very scared, stressed and afraid their cars would fall in. We are lucky it stopped there and didn't continue. It makes us question the foundation of the road, it's so weak, a car could have fallen in if it was passing when the sinkhole began," Jansen added.
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Biohazard

215M gallons of 'slightly radioactive' water drained into Florida aquifer

Chris Cato
FOX 13 News
Fri, 16 Sep 2016 11:48 UTC
Mosaic pond leaks 215M gallons of 'slightly radioactive' water
© FOX 13 News
Mosaic says 215 million gallons of "slightly radioactive" water has leaked into the Florida aquifer since August 27 after a sinkhole opened under a retention pond in Mulberry.

It's happening at Mosaic's New Wales plant in Polk County. A representative for Mosiac told FOX 13 News, the plant stores wastewater in ponds on top of a huge gypsum stack.


Comment: World Health Organization: Prolonged exposure to low levels of radiation increases the risk of cancer

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Large sinkhole opens near local business in Pacific, Missouri

Pauline Masson
EMissourian
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 18:12 UTC
Missouri sinkhole
© Missourian
A giant sinkhole opened a few feet from West Osage Street at Integram Drive Sept. 9. Public Works Commissioner Bob Brueggemann said he was called at 8 a.m. about the sinkhole. When he arrived, the ground had already collapsed, exposing a great gap of moist earth.

"I called Roy (Hinkle, street department supervisor) and told him to get as much orange safety fence as they could find," Brueggemann said. "We had to get it fenced so curious people wouldn't walk too close to the edge."

The hole, which spans 50 by 70 feet and is 23 feet deep, opened up on the property of Clayton Corporation, beneath a city of Pacific storm sewer manhole. "It appears to be a storm sewer issue, but we don't know for sure," Brueggemann said. "We're still investigating."

If there is a break in the storm sewer line, water could have been collecting underground for some time before the collapse, he said.

The manhole adjacent to the sinkhole connects to a 15- by 15-foot concrete box culvert beneath West Osage where 110 gallons of water per second was flowing into the sinkhole. "The water is flowing and the ground is still moving," City Engineer Dan Rahn said. "It could get bigger."
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