Sinkholes
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Blue Planet

Mysterious Siberian crater, Batagaika, 'gateway to a subterranean world'


The Siberian Times
Wed, 18 May 2016 12:00 UTC
Batagaika crater, Siberia
© Alexander GabyshevBatagaika started to form in 1960s after a chunk of forest was cleared: the land sunk, and has continued to do so, evidently speeded by recent warmer temperatures melting the permafrost.
Locals hear 'booms from the underworld' in giant ravine but now scientists say it holds secrets of the planet's past.

Many Yakutian people are said to be scared to approach the Batagaika Crater - also known as the Batagaika Megaslump: believing in the upper, middle and under worlds, they see this as a doorway to the last of these.

The fearsome noises are probably just the thuds of falling soil at a landmark that is a one kilometre-long gash up to 100 metres (328 feet) deep in the Siberian taiga.

Batagaika started to form in 1960s after a chunk of forest was cleared: the land sunk, and has continued to do so, evidently speeded by recent warmer temperatures melting the permafrost, so unbinding the layers on the surface and below. Major flooding in 2008 increased the size of the depression which grows at up to 15 metres per year.

Batagaika crater, Siberia cliff face
© Julian MurtonFace of the Batagaika crater, Siberia

Comment: See also:

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Berea, South Africa residents shocked to discover large sinkhole developed overnight

Lorna Charles
Berea Mail
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 21:14 UTC
Glenwood, SA sinkhole
© Berea Mail
Glenwood residents and motorists driving along Che Guevara (Moore) Road on Tuesday morning were in for lengthy traffic delays on the busy road where a sinkhole developed overnight.

According to a resident at the Newton Place cul-de-sac, Dalone Jansen, he went across the road to buy pizza between 9 and 10pm and there was no sign of the sinkhole. "It was fine when I came home last night so it must have happened in the middle of the night. There was complete chaos this morning when people were trying to get out of our road to get to work. I'm lucky, I'm waiting for a ride to work so wasn't affected," he said.

About 7.30am all the cars on the tiny one-way-road were backed up. "Drivers were very scared, stressed and afraid their cars would fall in. We are lucky it stopped there and didn't continue. It makes us question the foundation of the road, it's so weak, a car could have fallen in if it was passing when the sinkhole began," Jansen added.
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Biohazard

215M gallons of 'slightly radioactive' water drained into Florida aquifer

Chris Cato
FOX 13 News
Fri, 16 Sep 2016 11:48 UTC
Mosaic pond leaks 215M gallons of 'slightly radioactive' water
© FOX 13 News
Mosaic says 215 million gallons of "slightly radioactive" water has leaked into the Florida aquifer since August 27 after a sinkhole opened under a retention pond in Mulberry.

It's happening at Mosaic's New Wales plant in Polk County. A representative for Mosiac told FOX 13 News, the plant stores wastewater in ponds on top of a huge gypsum stack.


Comment: World Health Organization: Prolonged exposure to low levels of radiation increases the risk of cancer

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Large sinkhole opens near local business in Pacific, Missouri

Pauline Masson
EMissourian
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 18:12 UTC
Missouri sinkhole
© Missourian
A giant sinkhole opened a few feet from West Osage Street at Integram Drive Sept. 9. Public Works Commissioner Bob Brueggemann said he was called at 8 a.m. about the sinkhole. When he arrived, the ground had already collapsed, exposing a great gap of moist earth.

"I called Roy (Hinkle, street department supervisor) and told him to get as much orange safety fence as they could find," Brueggemann said. "We had to get it fenced so curious people wouldn't walk too close to the edge."

The hole, which spans 50 by 70 feet and is 23 feet deep, opened up on the property of Clayton Corporation, beneath a city of Pacific storm sewer manhole. "It appears to be a storm sewer issue, but we don't know for sure," Brueggemann said. "We're still investigating."

If there is a break in the storm sewer line, water could have been collecting underground for some time before the collapse, he said.

The manhole adjacent to the sinkhole connects to a 15- by 15-foot concrete box culvert beneath West Osage where 110 gallons of water per second was flowing into the sinkhole. "The water is flowing and the ground is still moving," City Engineer Dan Rahn said. "It could get bigger."
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Sinkhole cracks pavement across four-lane road in Torrance, California


Daily Breeze
Sun, 11 Sep 2016 23:01 UTC
Road closure sign
A water main break Sunday caused a sinkhole, which closed a stretch of Crenshaw Boulevard in Torrance for about five hours.

Police were dispatched at 7 a.m. to Crenshaw Boulevard, between 168th and 170th streets, to provide traffic control as utility crews fill up sinkhole, according to a news release from the Torrance Police Department.

"There were cracks (in the pavement) across all [four] lanes of traffic," the release stated.

It was not immediately known if any water service was interrupted due to the water main brake.

Crenshaw Boulevard was closed between 168th and 170th streets at about 7:25 a.m. Police expected the big hole to be filled and traffic lanes re-opened by 12:30 p.m., police said.
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Massive sinkhole opens along historic Route 66 near Pacific, Missouri

Jason Aubry
ksdk.com
Fri, 09 Sep 2016 19:30 UTC
sinkhole
There are many things that I couldn't tell from a hole in the ground.

The sinkhole along Historic Route 66 in Pacific, Missouri, is not one of them. It truly is a hole in the ground, a 70-foot by 50-foot hole — as of Friday afternoon — that was deep enough to swallow a two story building.

According to an engineer working for a company contracted by the city, the cause of the sinkhole was the collapse of a storm sewer pipe.

The 6- to 7-foot wide pipe, was installed in the undeveloped farm field back in the 1980's.

It was attached to the cement box culvert that ran under the highway at the time.

The engineer believes the connection joint failed and the pipe was crushed after years of deterioration.

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Man falls into three-metre-deep sinkhole that appears in floor at home in China


South China Morning Post
Sun, 04 Sep 2016 14:17 UTC
Sinkhole
A young man relaxing in the lounge of a five-storey house in northwestern China fell into a three-metre-deep sinkhole that suddenly appeared in the floor, mainland media reports.

The 1.82 metre tall man disappeared into the two-metre-wide hole while staying at his uncle's home in the city of Xian of Shaanxi province last Thursday, the news portal Cnwest.com reported.

He was taken to hospital for treatment to injuries to his waist after falling onto bricks that collapsed into the bottom of the hole.

The man's uncle said he believed the sinkhole had formed because of water leaking from a nearby pipeline.

He had spotted water leaking from the same pipe at the bottom of the hole, he said.
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Two giant sinkholes open on Miami, Florida turnpike

Mimi Whitefield
Miami Herald
Sat, 27 Aug 2016 15:46 UTC
Miami sinkholes
© Miami Herald
Two giant holes opened up Saturday afternoon in the southbound lanes of Florida's Turnpike near Hard Rock Stadium, snarling traffic and closing lanes and two exits.

Crew continued to repair the sinkhole-like openings early Sunday morning and lanes reopened after 10 a.m.

"No one was hurt. That is our mission, said Joe Sanchez, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol.

"Can you imaging a car, doing 75 miles per hour, running into this?

The openings aren't natural-occurring sinkholes because they were caused by a broken water line under a southbound section of the turnpike just north of Northwest 199th Street in Miami-Dade County.

Southbound traffic iwas diverted to the Homestead Extension (821) of the Turnpike. The 2X (NW 199th St.) and 4X (County Line Road) exits were shut down.

FHP said it was notified of the holes at 1 p.m. Saturday. There were no immediate reports of damage to vehicles or injuries related to the holes in the highway.

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20-foot sinkhole closes intersection in Phoenix, Arizona


AZ Family
Mon, 22 Aug 2016 18:57 UTC
59th and Indian School road sinkhole in Phoenix
© KNXV
A sinkhole has closed the intersection of 59th Avenue and Indian School Road in west Phoenix.

Emergency crews responded to the scene Monday morning.

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Horse

Elvis has left the sinkhole: 20 foot deep sinkhole opens up and swallows miniature horse named Elvis in Garrard County, Kentucky


Lex18
Fri, 19 Aug 2016 21:01 UTC
miniature horse sinkhole
© NBCDFW
A miniature horse who was missing for 10 days is back in his stable tonight.

Elvis, a family favorite, was found 20 feet down a sinkhole on his owner's property in Garrard County.

"And we brought him back from the dead. He's alive, healthy and doing great," said Robin Snowden, the property owner.

The Snowdens thought Elvis had run away, or was lost in the woods.

They had no idea he was still on the property until a worker noticed a large sinkhole, with Elvis at the bottom.
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