Sinkholes
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Large sinkhole swallows van in Zhengzhou, China


gbtimes
Fri, 05 Aug 2016 13:03 UTC
SINKHOLE CHina
A sinkhole opened up on a road in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou on Thursday evening, swallowing a van in the process.

No casualties were reported and the van has been lifted out of the sinkhole, which was about two metres deep and six metres in diameter, China News Service reported.

The sinkhole came just one day after an even larger one swallowed a section of road and passersby in the city on Wednesday. One person remains missing from the incident.

Initial investigations suggest that Wednesday's sinkhole may have been the result of underground water pipes crumbling due to recent heavy rain.

Multiple similar incidents have been reported in the city, raising questions over the quality of road construction.
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Sinkhole opens up on farmland in Kybybolite, South Australia

Isabella Hood
The Naracoorte Herald
Thu, 04 Aug 2016 14:07 UTC
Local Max Schinckel inspects the sinkhole after driving over it in a tractor towing a spray unit.
Local Max Schinckel inspects the sinkhole after driving over it in a tractor towing a spray unit.
Driving over a three metre wide and two metre deep sinkhole in a large tractor towing a spray unit is not an ideal situation, but that's the scenario local Max Schinckel found himself in yesterday.

The incident occurred on the property of Kybybolite farmer Andrew Shepherd, who said it was the first sinkhole he had come across on his farm.

"It opened up underneath the tractor and spray unit," Mr Shepherd explained.

"We were very lucky that the weight must have broken the ground, but hadn't actually dropped until the sprayer was basically all the way over it.

"The driver (Max) that was driving the tractor was thrown out of his seat and hit his head on the roof. He stopped to get out and have a look and he found the sinkhole.

"It's something I wasn't expecting, that's for sure."
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Large sinkhole swallows car in Albany, New York

Daniel Uria
UPI
Tue, 02 Aug 2016 16:04 UTC
Sinkhole swallows car in Albany
Sinkhole swallows car in Albany
A car in Albany, N.Y., was swallowed by a large sinkhole that formed as a result of heavy rains and a water main break.

According to News10, the Albany Water Department reported a large water main break that swallowed a vehicle and left it resting on top of a main gas line.

Water Commissioner Joe Coffey told WNYT that the water from the broken pipes cleared out ground underneath the street, creating the sinkhole.

Crews worked to lift the red Ford Explorer, owned by an Albany Medical College student, from the hole using a crane.

Several roads were closed as a result of the incident and officials said the water main break could cause residents to experience lower water pressure.


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North Carolina man rescued after driving into huge sinkhole

Mikaya Thurmond and Arielle Clay
WRAL
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 18:59 UTC
Durham sinkhole
© WRAL
A Durham man and father of three said he thought he was going to die when he mistakenly drove into a massive weather-related sinkhole on Glenn Road in Durham on Sunday night.

Robert Belcher said he thought he saw water on the road and assumed it was a puddle. He slowed to cross it.

"It was not a puddle, but I didn't know until I was in it. My truck had already went down and it started flipping," Belcher said.

Authorities shut down a portion of Glenn Road between Club Boulevard and Bundy Avenue around 10 p.m. to steer traffic away from the large sinkhole, which stretches from one side of the road to the other and is estimated to be 10 to 15 feet deep.

Javier Rosales saw Belcher's crash. He was in the area because he had also hit the sinkhole. "When I tried to stop it was too late," Rosales said. "I bumped my tires and my axle flew out."
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Bizarro Earth

Inground pool! Sinkhole with swirling water appears in backyard of house in Australia


RT
Tue, 02 Aug 2016 18:33 UTC
Sinkhole
A sinkhole filled with water appeared in the backyard of a house in Australia on Tuesday. House owners Lynn and Ray McKay woke up to find the small hole after being informed by a neighbour of its existence in the Queensland state town of Ipswich. The sinkhole with swirling water got wider gradually, swallowing part of the yard, and increasing to about eight metres (26.2 feet). An old mine shaft could have been the cause of the sinkhole.

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Large sinkhole opens up in village in the Philippines


Manila Bulletin
Mon, 01 Aug 2016 14:52 UTC
Shown in this handout photo from the Office of Civil Defense-Cordillera Administrative Region (OCD-CAR) is the sinkhole area in Sitio Batuang, Barangay Virac, Itogon, Benguet, just 18 kilometers outside of Baguio City.
Shown in this handout photo from the Office of Civil Defense-Cordillera Administrative Region (OCD-CAR) is the sinkhole area in Sitio Batuang, Barangay Virac, Itogon, Benguet, just 18 kilometers outside of Baguio City.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources' Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) has launched a probe into the emergence of a suspected sinkhole in a village in Polomolok town in South Cotabato.

A team from the MGB in Region 12 conducted an inspection at the site in Purok Maunlad of Barangay Silway 8 in the said town on Monday to determine the status and the possible cause of the land subsidence, which initially emerged on Thursday last week.

Polomolok Vice Mayor Eliazar Jovero said they requested the MGB-12 to evaluate the suspected sinkhole, which forced some 134 families settled near the site to evacuate over the weekend.

He said the municipal government ordered the evacuation on Friday night due to safety concerns.

"Our main priority right now is to determine whether the area is still safe for our residents," he said in a radio interview.

A report from the Polomolok Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office said the suspected sinkhole is around 40 feet deep and has an estimated diameter of 50 feet.
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Bizarro Earth

Giant sinkhole in China swallows 4 people, 2 still missing


RT
Tue, 02 Aug 2016 14:24 UTC
China sinkhole
© People's Daily, China / Facebook
Two people were rescued from a giant sinkhole that opened up in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, while two more remain missing.

What started out as a crack in the road following heavy rain on Monday night, opened up into a small hole shortly after, before swallowing up a grass verge beside it and then pulling in some of the surrounding pavements.

A number of pedestrians stood beside the hole to take photos of it as it expanded. Four were suddenly dragged in, along with three vehicles, according to local media.
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Better Earth

Chinese researchers find world's deepest sinkhole found in South China Sea


RT
Sat, 23 Jul 2016 17:18 UTC
deep sinkhole
© People's Daily
Chinese researchers claim to have found the world's deepest underwater sinkhole, located near the hotly disputed islands of the South China Sea.

Also known as a blue hole, it measures 300.89 meters (988ft) in depth, far surpassing the previous record held by Dean's Blue Hole in the Bahama Islands, which is 202 meters deep.

Measuring 130 meters in diameter, the hole was discovered at a major coral reef near the Paracel Islands, which both China and Vietnam have claims on, as part of an exploration project which ran from August 2015 until June.
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Cloud Precipitation

Giant sinkhole emerges in Altai region of Russia after heavy flooding

Ruptly TV
You Tube
Wed, 20 Jul 2016 18:40 UTC
Baturovo sinkhole
© Via YouTube
Footage filmed on Wednesday shows the aftermath of heavy flooding which left a huge sinkhole on a road in the village of Baturovo in the Altai Region. No injuries were reported.

According to EMERCOM, 82 emergency service officers as well as 37 units of equipment are currently involved in the recovery works.

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House

Several houses evacuated after 30-foot-wide (and growing) sinkhole opens in Tampa Bay, Florida


WFTV
Mon, 18 Jul 2016 19:40 UTC
Holiday, Florida sinkhole
© Cox Media Group
Officials say they've evacuated several Tampa Bay area homes after a sinkhole opened up beneath one house.

Pasco Fire Rescue responded to the Holiday neighborhood Monday afternoon.

Chief Shawn Whited says they initially estimated the hole to be about 30 feet wide and 15 feet deep, but it was still growing. Firefighters evacuated the affected home, as well as four other surrounding houses. Whited says the structures will have to remain empty until an engineer can inspect the hole either later Monday or Tuesday.

Whited says the sinkholes can usually be stabilized and filled in.

No injuries were reported.

Comment: Sinkholes: The groundbreaking truth

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