Sinkholes
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Huge sinkhole opens up on road in Phillipsburg, New Jersey

Steve Novak
Lehigh Valley Live
Fri, 23 Dec 2016 11:37 UTC
A workers on Dec. 23, 2016, climbs down into to a large sinkhole that opened days earlier on Lopatcong Township's Wordsworth Lane, the same street where a snow plow was almost swallowed by a sinkhole in 2015
© Steve NovakA workers on Dec. 23, 2016, climbs down into to a large sinkhole that opened days earlier on Lopatcong Township's Wordsworth Lane, the same street where a snow plow was almost swallowed by a sinkhole in 2015
Santa has more than stockings to fill on Wordsworth Lane.

A huge sinkhole opened this week on the Lopatcong Township road -- nearly in the same spot where the earth almost swallowed a snow plow in 2015.

"I keep having visions of some 'Far Side' cartoon," 63-year-old Dave Thomas quipped Friday evening as workers tended to the maw at the end of his driveway. "We'll either be living on top of a tiny spike of land ... or in the middle of a lake."

Mayor Tom McKay estimated the hole was 20 feet wide and eight to 10 feet deep when it opened Thursday morning, fortunately before any school buses went down the road.

Residents said the water company, Aqua New Jersey, was fixing a leak in the water main on Wednesday that lead to the bigger problem.
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Water Authority: 50-foot sinkhole collapsing neighborhood road in Pennsylvania 'naturally occurring'

Mallory Lane
We Are Central PA
Mon, 19 Dec 2016 18:30 UTC
Brittany Drive sinkhole in PA
© WJAC

A massive sinkhole opened up in a State College neighborhood, leaving dozens of residents without water. Monday, crews remained on scene to clean the mess and repair the damage.

The State College Borough Water Authority said the hole was 50 feet wide and 25 feet deep. It formed on Brittany Drive in the Park Forest neighborhood. The authority doesn't know exactly what caused the sinkhole to open because everything underground was completely washed away when they arrived on scene Sunday.

Crews will repair four pipes underground - the sewer line, sewer laterals, water main and water service line.

The Water Authority said water was restored to the 21 homes affected by the incident around 3:00 p.m. on Monday. Those homes will remain under a boil water notice until Wednesday.

Neighbors who were home when the sinkhole formed said they didn't hear anything, but did see water flowing down the street in that area earlier in the day.

"We saw a whole bunch of brown, muddy water flowing down the street and when we came up, it's right across the street from us, we saw it just flowing out of a lump on the ground," Nevin King, who lives nearby, said.

Comment: On December 20th, the local water authority reported that the sinkhole was naturally occurring and not a result of leaking water pipes:
The water authority said after an investigation that their tank levels and pumping times were normal. That means there is no evidence of a leak causing a sinkhole.
See: Sinkholes: The groundbreaking truth

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Crumbling coastline: Dangerous sinkhole opens on cliff in Pacifica, California

Marianne Favro and Stephen Ellison
NBC News - Bay Area
Mon, 12 Dec 2016 17:31 UTC
Pacifica beach sinkhole
© KRON4
A hazardous sinkhole emerged on a cliff in Pacifica Saturday, closing access to a popular beach and causing concerns about recurring erosion due to heavy rains and high waves.

A barricade and sign closing off beach access was erected Saturday. It's an issue residents of the area have grown accustomed to over the years.

"It's a constant battle," neighbor Gary Tiggs said. "If you look at the sidewalk over there, it's very narrow. It's just a shadow of what it was years ago."

The latest sinkhole may have been caused by some of the biggest waves of the year, known as King Tides. Such tides are expected to peak Tuesday or Wednesday, according to weather reports.

"I'm always ready to jump back because it can just fall at a moment's notice," Tiggs said about the cliff area. "And just because there's a sidewalk there, it doesn't mean it won't fall."

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30-foot wide, 20-foot deep sinkhole at condo complex causes evacuation near Florida's Disney World

Melodi Smith
Click Orlando
Sat, 10 Dec 2016 19:27 UTC
Bahama Bay II sinkhole
A sinkhole opened Friday at a gated condo complex near Walt Disney World, prompting the evacuation of 16 units and more than 30 residents at Bahama Bay II, Osceola County sheriff's deputies said.

It formed outside one of the buildings near the lake. The hole, estimated at 30 feet wide and 20 feet deep, opened at 9121 Calypso Court in Kissimmee. Deputies said officials determined that the structure is not safe and ordered the evacuations.


"I woke up early this morning and had one of the neighbors knock on the door, telling us that we had a sinkhole in the backyard. When I looked out the sliding door it was actually about a good ten feet wide, five feet deep," said Danny, who only wanted to give his first name.

He said he was able to grab some personal belonging before he had to leave, now he's not sure where he's going to stay. "We're waiting to see what they're going to do about giving us an open unit. If not, we'll probably have to go to a hotel. I don't know if they're going to be paying or what's going to happen," he said.

Bahama Bay II sinkhole
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Rare sinkhole swallows two cars in San Antonio, one dead

Chris Shadrock
ksat.com
Sun, 04 Dec 2016 12:01 UTC
Emergency crews are on the scene of a massive sink hole on the Southwest Side Sunday night.
© SBG San AntonioEmergency crews are on the scene of a massive sink hole on the Southwest Side Sunday night.
Multiple San Antonio firefighters engaged in a high water rescue operation in the 8400 block of Quintana Road on San Antonio's Southwest Side after multiple cars got trapped in a sinkhole.

The rescue occurred near the intersection with Leon Creek. Initial calls for help came in just after 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

At least two vehicles were submerged by water -- including one that was flipped onto its roof.

Emergency responders believe the sinkhole could be 10 feet deep.

A man in his 60s was rescued by bystanders, both the man and one of the bystanders were taken to a hospital for treatment. SAFD is unsure if there are people in the other submerged vehicle, but said they fear the worse. Crews will have to wait until Monday morning to see if there are any victims in the second car.



Comment: According to Dr. Yongli Gao, a geological sciences professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, sinkholes in that area of the city are rare:
According to Dr. Gao, sink holes are nothing new to the area but are usually seen on the city's north side closer to the Edwards Aquifer, which is why he's surprised to see one so far south.

When asked if a sinkhole like the one seen Sunday could happen anywhere throughout San Antonio, Dr. Gao said, "Yeah it's possible, but I would say the probability is pretty low."

Dr. Gao said one major reason sinkholes are rare in the southern part of San Antonio is because the bed rock is usually pretty far down beneath the ground surface.
NBC news also reports that a woman was killed in the incident.

See also: Sinkholes: The groundbreaking truth

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Man rescued from sinkhole after it opens up and swallows him in Toronto

Andrej Ivanov
Toronto Star
Thu, 01 Dec 2016 18:47 UTC
A man raking leaves at his North York home suffered minor injuries after a 2-meter sinkhole opened beneath him, and swallowed him up to the neck.
© Victor BiroA man raking leaves at his North York home suffered minor injuries after a 2-meter sinkhole opened beneath him, and swallowed him up to the neck.
A man had to be rescued after he fell into a sinkhole that opened up on Tamworth Rd. in Willowdale. The man suffered minor injuries from the fall.

Toronto Fire received a call at 4 p.m. saying a man was trapped in a hole up to his shoulders. The sinkhole is next to a drainage hole, Toronto Police Services reported.

According to witnesses, the sinkhole opened under the man's feet as he was walking down the street.

Toronto fire had to set up a perimeter around the hole to distribute the weight of their equipment. They then set up: a ladder over the opening, a tripod, a harness and a winch, to get the man out.
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Massive sinkhole opens on Ramapough-Lenape Native American land in New Jersey


News12
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 12:42 UTC
Ringwood sinkhole
© News12 New JerseyA large sinkhole has opened up on Ramapough-Lenape land in Ringwood.
A massive sinkhole has developed on the Ramapough-Lenape Native American tribe's land in Ringwood.

Neighbors say that the hole, which opened off of Van Dunk Lane, is anywhere from 30 to 50 feet in circumference. A member of the Ramapough-Lenape tribe discovered the hole Wednesday morning while walking on a trail in the woods.

Ringwood Borough officials tell News 12 New Jersey that they believe that one of the many mine pits that are across Ringwood opened up. A cause was not immediately determined.

The Ramapough-Lenape chief says that the residents live in constant fear of sinkholes opening up and says that there hasn't been a true solution to fix the problem.

"This is an old issue, and it's obviously never been addressed," says Chief Vincent Mann. "Whether it's because of financial reasons or we think it's because of who we are. And that's sad to say, but you can connect this to a lot of things happening in the country today, even to Standing Rock. We are human beings, and we deserve the right to be able to live."
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Archaeology

Cluster of forty-nine pit caves discovered in northwest China


PressTV
Mon, 28 Nov 2016 18:59 UTC
Pit cave in China
© PressTV
A cluster of world-class sinkholes has been discovered in northwest China. Forty-nine pit caves have also been discovered during a 4-month-survey in China's Hanzhong City located in Shaanxi Province.

The cluster includes 31 regular-sized, 17 large and 1 super-sized pit caves with the largest measuring up to 500 meters in diameter. All found caves live up to the standards of a world geological relic and are intact since they're located in places that are hard to reach.

Rare plant and animal species were also found during the survey conducted by experts from UNESCO as well as other international and local bodies.

Local governments have already started their work to utilize technical, ecological and legal methods to preserve these natural marvels. The caves are expected to contribute greatly to the study of environment and climate change in both the north and south of China.

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Russian car submerges into six meter sinkhole, never recovered (VIDEO)


RT
Sun, 27 Nov 2016 18:34 UTC
Russian car in sinkhole
© Владимир Кобзев / YouTube
Probably not as epic as James Cameron's Titanic, but this Russian flick has its share of vehicles slowly submerging too. A Lada Kalina car drowned in a sinkhole as its owner frantically waited for rescuers to arrive ... but it was never seen again.

Footage of the car's descent into muddy abyss of Ufa, a city in the Urals, was uploaded online by an eyewitness, who said by the time rescuers arrived at the scene, the vehicle was "up to its glands" in the water.

Local news channel 360 reported that rescue workers drained with pumps the six meter sinkhole but found no car in it. They said it had been carried away by the stream of water that washed over the earth in the first place.

The owner of the car told the reporters that she will sue the municipal authorities for damage.

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Major landslide in Serendah, Malaysia


New Straits Times
Sat, 26 Nov 2016 11:39 UTC
At least six cars, two motorcycles and one van were swallowed up by earth in the 1.20am incident.
At least six cars, two motorcycles and one van were swallowed up by earth in the 1.20am incident.
One person was injured and at least 10 vehicles were buried in a major landslide which struck Taman Idaman, Serendah early this morning.

At least six cars, two motorcycles and one van were swallowed up by earth in the 1.20am incident.

The injured person was identified as Mohd Fareez, 21, was on his motorcycle when the landslide occurred. He was sent to the Selayang Hospital.

Most of the affected vehicles were parked 50 metres from the location where the landslide took place.

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