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Massive section of Swiss mountain breaks off and destroys forest below

Jake Polden
Daily Mail, UK
Fri, 23 Oct 2015 17:40 UTC
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2,000 cubic metres of solid rock that fell caused an avalanche on the mountain of Mel de la Niva

This is the incredible moment a huge piece of rock broke free from the side of a mountain and plummeted 1,000 feet in Switzerland.

The incredible footage was captured by a geologist who just happened to be filming when the rock fall occurred on a mountain in the Swiss Alps.

According to local reports the 2,000 cubic metres of solid rock that fell caused an avalanche on the mountain of Mel de la Niva, near Evolene.

Geologists studying the mountain had noted geological activity prior to the incident and the site had been under surveillance since 2013, reported Le Nouvelliste.

Major movements were detected last week and the hamlet of Arbey and a road below the mountain had been evacuated and shut the day before.

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Massive sinkhole gobbles up car in Sicily


thelocal.it
Thu, 22 Oct 2015 18:48 UTC
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© Vigili del FuocoThe sinkhole opened up on a road near Catania.
A parked car was swallowed up by a sinkhole that suddenly opened up on a road in Sicily after heavy rain on Wednesday evening.

The car plunged five metres through the eight-metre wide hole on a road in Valverde, in the province of Catania.

The female driver made a miraculous escape having just parked the vehicle before the hole opened up, Corriere reported.

It was then hauled out by firefighters with a crane. The scene was captured on the video below.

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Large sinkhole develops in Union City, California - suddenly fills with water

Cornell Barnard
ABC7 News
Wed, 14 Oct 2015 23:44 UTC
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© City of Union City
First a sinkhole opened up in the East Bay and then water started mysteriously gushing into the hole, swallowing up part of the street.

The sinkhole developed early Wednesday afternoon on Alvarado Boulevard and New Haven Street in Union City and crews are working to patch up the problem.

It's still unclear why the sinkhole developed. The water was everywhere, bubbling up from the middle of the once busy intersection, creating a lake at Alvarado Boulevard.

"It's a lot of water," said Pooja Sharma, a Union City resident. "It's very scary."

The source of the water remains a mystery. It began when a sinkhole about 10 feet by 12 feet wide, developed around 2 p.m. Wednesday. No one could say how deep the hole was. The intersection was quickly closed to traffic.

Hours later water began filling the sinkhole, overflowing down the street. Crews jackhammered into the asphalt to find a source of the leak, possibly a ruptured water pipe nearby.

Some neighbors worry more sinkholes could develop. "It's crazy. It could happen in our house," said one resident.
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© ABC

Comment: Sinkholes - A Sign of the Times?

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Sinkhole swallows large stretch of road in San José, Costa Rica

Zach Dyer
The Tico Times
Wed, 14 Oct 2015 20:25 UTC
Like the saying goes: September showers bring October...sinkholes.
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© Alberto Font/The Tico Times
The rainy season finally started in earnest in these last few weeks and the arrival of heavy rains has municipal authorities scrambling to address the flooding and sinkholes that have become a seasonal headache for drivers and pedestrians alike. The National Meteorological Institute announced Monday that heavy rains were expected this week and the next for the Central Valley and the Pacific coast.

The latest sinkhole to appear this year was a 6-meter wide, 11-meter deep sinkhole that opened up over the weekend on the street near the Transportes Costarricenses Panameños bus station in Plaza Víquez. City workers started repairing the gaping hole that opened between Avenue 20 and 5th Street on Tuesday.

The Tico Times was not able to reach San José Public Services Director Marco Corrales for comment after several unanswered calls to his cellphone, but the Municipality of San José released a brief statement explaining that the aging sewer infrastructure and the heavy weight of vehicles passing over the high traffic stretch of road all contributed to the hole that opened over the weekend.

News website CRHoy.com reported that it would take between four and six weeks to complete the repairs to the busy road. Corrales told the news website that the sinkhole was on the municipality's list of pending repairs before Mother Nature forced it to the top of the list. Corrales said that the repairs could cost as much as ₡5 million, or roughly $9,400.

Aging infrastructure, lacking maintenance and trash that blocks drains and backs up sewers caused another sight last month. On Sept. 25, a sudden downpour flooded San José's Chinatown when a sewer line backed up.

Sinkholes and flooding are a pain, but there is a silver lining: memes.

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© The Tico Times
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Sinkhole forms at cemetery in Laconia, New Hampshire

Bob Martin
The Citizen (New Hampshire)
Thu, 08 Oct 2015 16:25 UTC
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© John KoziolScott Bridges, a groundskeeper at Union Cemetery in Laconia, stands Thursday behind the large sinkhole that was created eight days earlier.
Officials are trying to act fast to repair a sinkhole in Union Cemetery that is coming dangerously close to several plots where the ashes of the deceased are buried.

Groundskeeper Scott Bridges said the sinkhole, which is about 30 feet wide and 8 feet deep, occurred during last week's torrential rainstorm on Sept. 30 at about 4 p.m. The pipe that broke was more than 65 years old, and Bridges said the bottom of one section rotted out and caused the collapse.

Over the past several days, the hole has continued to widen ever so slightly, and the hope is to get the broken pipe replaced and the hole filled as soon as possible. He said the goal is to have it done before the next major rainstorm, and he assumes work will begin within the next week or so.

"Right now, it seems to be maintaining, but if we get any more rain and bad weather, that could be bad," said Bridges. "The hole will get bigger because the soil is so loose, and it will collapse more. As long as we don't get a really bad rainstorm, we should be OK."
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Series of growing sinkholes in Sevierville, Tennessee threaten sewer lines


WBIR
Wed, 07 Oct 2015 21:53 UTC
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© WBIR
A series of sinkholes in Sevierville are growing, despite efforts to seal them off.

The city is asking the U.S. Geological Survey to help figure out what's causing the giant hole, and several smaller ones, that are threatening sewer lines.

The sinkholes are near the bridge where Collier Drive crosses Middle Creek.

The city says they believe the bridge is sound, but the sinkholes likely threaten sewer lines.

Sevierville will set aside about $52,000 to have the USGS analyze the ground water and underground water in an attempt to figure out what's causing the sinkholes.

Comment: There have been 35 sinkholes reported in the last 30 days. The earth is opening up!



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Car falls into sinkhole in Delhi, India

Bhanvi Arora
iamin.in
Tue, 06 Oct 2015 18:30 UTC
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Two-three metro officials have been deployed in the area to fill the hole in the road
At around 12 in the midnight on Monday, a car fell in a sinkhole formed by caving in of road at Delhi's Netaji Subhash Marg area. An accident, however, was averted as there was no one in the car.

The authorities soon swung into action to avoid any further mishaps. Police was called and the car was pulled out by a crane. "Two-three metro officials have been deployed in the area where the incident happened to fill the hole in the road. Traffic personnel have also been deployed for managing the traffic movement on the road," informed ACP, Sushil Kumar.

Some residents argued that the incident happened due to ongoing construction work in the area. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has been constructing Red Fort line which will connect Lal Qila, Jama Masjid, Dilli Gate with ITO and tunnelling has been taking place in Old Delhi areas.
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Huge sinkhole opens up in Anatolia, Turkey; thirteenth in 2 years


BGN News
Wed, 07 Oct 2015 13:21 UTC
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A 10-meter wide, 7-meter deep sinkhole has formed on farmland in the district of Karapınar, in Turkey's central Anatolian province of Konya. This is at least the thirteenth sinkhole to form in two years, and the tenth since the spring.

The sinkhole formed in Karapınar's Kirkitoğlu region, about 7 kilometers (4 miles) from the town center and about 500 meters from the nearest residence.

Farmer Atilla Köken said the sinkhole probably formed a few days ago. "Several sinkholes have already formed in the area before. This one is 10 meters across and 7 meters deep. Even if we're anxious about them there is nothing to do; we've grown accustomed to living here.

The Kirkitoğlu region of Karapınar has several old sinkholes, some reaching even 70 meters (230 feet) in depth. The increase in rainfall during the spring accelerates their formation, with locals claiming that nine sinkholes had formed this past spring alone.

Selçuk University Geological Engineering professor Fetullah Arık said that over 200 sinkholes have been identified in the area so far.
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Fire truck swallowed by large sinkhole in Ulan-Ude, Russia


Strange Sounds
Tue, 29 Sep 2015 13:11 UTC
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© CENFire truck in sinkhole
On its way to extinguish a blaze, a fire truck was swallowed by a large sinkhole in Ulan-Ude, the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia.

So who extinguished the fire, finally?

I don't know but no firefighters have been injured and that's the most important.

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Sinkhole swallows car near University of Minnesota in Minneapolis

Stephen Tellier
kstp.com
Sun, 04 Oct 2015 18:48 UTC
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© Stephen Tellier Car in sinkhole
Minneapolis city officials said a water main break caused the sinkhole to form on Eight Street Southeast, not far from campus.

By Sunday afternoon, a sign near the sinkhole read, "Road closed ahead." It probably should have read, "Road no longer ahead."

"This entire area was just flooded," said Noah Hummel-Hall, who woke up early Sunday morning to find the street outside his apartment flooded.

First, there was a lot of water. Then, something strange happened.

"Suddenly, one of the cars was gone. We're like, 'Did it leave? How did it leave in the water? The engines can't run,'" Hummel-Hall said.

But the car wasn't gone. The 2002 Honda Civic had just gone fishing.
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