
© Steve Somerville/Metroland
A giant sinkhole, the size of a backyard swimming pool, swallowed several trees and a portion of the boulevard at Langstaff Rd. and Fairview Ave. in Richmond Hill.
The hole was created by a water main break the afternoon of Jan. 30, said Diogo Oliveira, the town's manager of water and waste water.
It forced the closure of Langstaff to through traffic for at least 24 hours.
Water main breaks are not uncommon with aging infrastructure, Oliveira said, but this one, which occurred around 1:30 p.m., caused more significant damage than usual.
The hole - six metres by five metres at the surface and almost double the size below ground - damaged the boulevard, swallowed trees on the embankment and will require the relocation of a nearby hydro pole.
Comment: Sinkholes and landslides are occurring with greater frequency all over the world and there is never much of a valid explanation forthcoming. But when we take into account the greater picture we can see it is one part of a series of changes happening on our planet:
- UK: 'Very unusual' sinkhole on train tracks after Storm Eleanor, 'ground shifting' say engineers
- 8 dead as massive sinkhole swallows eight-lane road in Foshan, China (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
- Sinkhole appears on beach in French Riviera (PHOTOS)
- Swimming-pool sized sinkhole opens in Toronto, Canada
- Massive sinkhole in Fukuoka disrupts traffic and causes blackout
- Incredible Images Show Giant Sinkhole In Sweden Keeps Expanding!
For more information, see: Sinkholes - A Sign of the Times? and Sinkholes: The groundbreaking truthAs well as our monthly documentary: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - January 2018: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs