Sinkholes
A woman in China has been given quite the surprise when the footpath she was walking on ceased to exist.
The sidewalk near the 114 bus stop at Reed Avenue in Lanzhou, China usually provides a safe route for those travelling on foot.
However, footage circulating online shows an unsuspecting pedestrian being swallowed by a sinkhole, descending into the depths below.
Emergency services were called to Cedar Court in Cedarwood Drive, St Albans, at 6.35am on Tuesday, after the sinkhole was discovered.
The evacuation was a precaution because of how close sinkhole is to the block in the Hertfordshire city.
Around 20 residents have been affected, a spokesman for St Albans City and District Council said.
The spokesman said: "Council officers from our Building Control and Environmental Services teams have been down on site this morning.
Witnesses tell FOX 46 she was simply walking down the sidewalk before it gave in and she fell into a wide hold. She was taken to the hospital quickly to be looked at.
"I was actually at the door whenever it happened."
Tara, who only told us her first name, was at work on South Center St. when she heard a woman's screams.
"I stuck my head out the door because I was scared I didn't know what was going on," Tara said.
The woman fell into the sinkhole and was unable to get out.
"It began to gush in the street last Wednesday," homeowner Daniel Levine said.
The scene at night may look and sound peaceful, but earlier Monday, it made for a potentially dangerous day at work for a City of Houston garbage crew.
Photos show their garbage truck stuck in a sinkhole created by the rushing water at the corner of Mandell and Harold near Westheimer and Dunlavy.
The sinkhole appeared between Marques de Corbera street and Gerardo Cordón street, in the La Elipa neighbourhood according to emergency services.
A similar sinkhole opened up last Friday in the same area which affected the structure of a building.
ÚLTIMA HORA
— La Elipa (@La_Elipa) November 5, 2018
Nos llega más información del nuevo hundimiento que se producía esta mañana en la carretera de la Avenida Marqués de Corbera con la Calle Gerardo Cordón. Este nuevo socavón tiene una profundidad de aproximadamente 15-20 metros de profundidad. Ya han retirado el coche pic.twitter.com/R7nJ59IkVx
Officers responding to the intersection of Olympia and Wildwood avenues just before 4 a.m. found the back-end of the car sticking out of the sinkhole.
The driver was uninjured.
The intersection has been shut down as crews worked to repair the water main break.
Toronto Fire crews responded to a call of water flowing along the stretch of road between Bouchette Street and Logan Avenue at around 5 a.m. Tuesday.
Firefighters arrived on scene and located a TTC supervisor vehicle partially submerged in a sinkhole near the water main break.
TTC spokesperson Brad Ross said the driver got out safely and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was fully submerged several hours later.
Footage shows people desperately forming a human chain to drag Maria da Silva, 73, from the passenger side of the sunken car in Brazil.
Her 76-year-old husband, Osvaldo, was pulled from the driver's seat just 30 seconds before the Nissan Frontier plunged deeper into the crater on Tuesday afternoon following heavy rains.
The two women had just finished work when they fell victim to the horrifying ordeal.
Video footage shows them walking down the road talking and appearing to enjoy themselves.
But as they were speaking, the ground from below collapsed under their feet.
A huge gaping hole then opened up and the two plunged into the gap.
Cracks in the ground were seen up to a depth of about 200 metres and flames were seen spreading from the gaps.
An electric pole was melted due to heat generated in the earth. The news spread in the surrounding villages and people in large numbers flocked to witness the fire from earth at the hamlet.
Owk Tahsildar Sanjeevaiah, rushed to the spot and made inquiries. He later informed the matter to the officials of Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) and Mines and Geology department.














Comment: For more details of the 2015 event in the same area, see: Massive sinkhole near London swallows suburban street, families evacuated.