Earth Changes
Monday night's heavy rainfall resurrected an old and dangerous problem for the pastor of a local church.
Pastor Wesley Byrd says a sinkhole that was 6 feet deep, 10 feet wide and 21 feet long opened up in the parking lot of Bethel Baptist Church.
This marks the third sinkhole to appear on the property since October.
Byrd said, "I was concerned because we have children that walk by here all the time, going to the shopping center, whatever. Certainly didn't want any one of them falling in it."
The City of Enid hired S.L Madison Construction to fix a broken storm sewer running through the area, which was blamed for causing the problem.
Unfortunately, that decision came too late to prevent this sinkhole from forming.

A 15 foot wide sinkhole opened up in east Houston on Tuesday afternoon. The sinkhole is located at 3600 Market Street, and it was big enough for a car to fall in.
The sinkhole swallowed part of Market Street at Capron, not far from I-10.
It's looking to be a long night ahead in the Fifth Ward as crews work to make these repairs. They've got a large area taped off.
The city says the sinkhole was caused by a water main break.
Neighbors say they started calling Tuesday morning. Some noticed the dip several days ago and grew concerned a car would lose control. The final straw came Tuesday afternoon when a METRO bus hit the hole and it caved in.
A whopping 8.02 inches of rain fell at the Philadelphia International Airport, with 7.35 inches falling between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. EDT.
Runoff from the heavy rain flooded ramps between Interstate 95 and Broad Street in Philadelphia. Flooding also ensued on Interstate 76 in nearby Gloucester City, N.J.
With the added rain, numerous rainfall records were broken in Philadelphia.
-The 8.02 inches of rain on Sunday shattered the previous record for the day of 3.28 inches set in July 1969.
-The 8.02 inches also established a new record for the most rain on any calendar day, breaking the previous record of 6.63 inches on Sept. 16, 1999 during Tropical Storm Floyd.
-The 13.00 inches through July 28th makes this July the wettest on record and the third wettest month overall, behind 19.31 inches in August 2011 and 13.07 inches in September 1999.
"It reminded me of a magic carpet," says Eriksson.
Normally the coming of August signals a downturn in sightings of noctilucent clouds (NLCs). The northern noctilucent daisy is brightest in June and July. This year, however, might be different. So far, 2013 has been one of the best years ever for these strange clouds at the edge of space. Sightings could continue long after than usual end of NLC season.
Observing tips: Look west 30 to 60 minutes after sunset when the sun has dipped 6o to 16o below the horizon. If you see luminous blue-white tendrils spreading across the sky, you've probably spotted a noctilucent cloud.
According to TV Globo news , a cascade of water gushing from the broken pipe destructed cars, garbage and some precarious houses like a mini tsunami. A 3 year old girl died and seven firefighters were wounded. The water and the power were turned off in the neighborhood.
Hopefully, it's not sewage water! Can you imagine the smell?
White storks suffered their worst breeding year on record in the Czech Republic, as the cold weather put paid to nearly a whole generation. Almost all of the chicks that did hatch didn't survive the severe weather which prevailed in Bohemia just as the birds were nesting.
Czech conservationists monitor the population of white storks at 285 sites across 25 districts of the Czech Republic annually. In 15 of the monitored districts there were 80 percent fewer chicks than last year and in 10 districts no chicks survived at all! To make matters even worse, it is very unlikely that the few chicks that have survived this far are unlikely to fledge successfully. The final assessment of this calamitous situation with nesting will be carried out in the autumn.
Four families have not been able to return to their homes due to a giant sink hole caused by a water main break in South Philadelphia. It's at the middle of the intersection at 21st and Bainbridge. Crews say the sink hole is 15-feet deep.
"It's enormous," said flooding victim Marisa Block. "I heard sink hole and I was thinking something like three or four feet, nothing that big. It's the entire intersection!"
The 96-year-old, 48-inch transmission main broke at 9 p.m Sunday, according to a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia Water Department.
Crews worked through the night, where water flowed up to three feet high in some spots, as you can see in this NBC10 viewer photo.
On Monday, there was a gas leak at the same location, but authorities say it was quickly fixed.
A sinkhole swallowed up the front end of a car on a street in Philadelphia's Hunting Park section early Tuesday morning.
The nose of the Pontiac Bonneville was sinking down below the street - its rear raised in the air. That was the sight neighbors were met with early this morning on the 3600 block of Marvine Street in Hunting Park.
Car owner Fran Leftenant woke up to an officer knocking on her door.
"I thought I had two missing tires, but it wasn't the case. My car was sinking," said Leftenant. "Right now I'm just sick."
She and other residents watched as the hole got deeper, and the lean on the car greater. A tow truck was called.













Comment: The city says the sinkhole was caused by a water main break, but these so-called water main breaks have been quite a frequent occurrence around the world lately...
Sinkholes - A Sign of the Times?