Sinkholes
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Cloud Precipitation

Severe rain causes sinkhole in west Sydney; threatens apartment blocks

Georgina Mitchell and Melanie Kembrey
Sydney Morning Herald
Sun, 03 May 2015 07:18 UTC
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© Gordon McComskie
Dozens of residents have spent the night away from their homes after fears of a building collapse in Sydney's west.

About 60 people were evacuated from three apartment blocks in Harris Park on Saturday evening after heavy rain damaged a nearby construction site at Parkes Street.

NSW SES media spokesman Todd Burns said the walls of a construction pit had started to crumble after being softened by rain.

Amid concerns the apartment buildings either side might give way, residents spent the night with family and friends and had not been allowed to return on Sunday morning.

Police said initial inquiries indicated that severe weather conditions had caused "excessive soil erosion and affected the structural integrity of the site".

It is not known when the buildings will be deemed safe as investigations involving the site developer, engineers, geologists and gas and electrical companies continue.
Image
© Gordon McComskie
The job was one of more than 1000 the SES had responded to since 7pm on Thursday as wild weather hit Queensland and New South Wales, fatally sweeping three cars off the road north of Brisbane and killing a six-year-old boy at South Ballina.
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Sinkhole big enough to swallow a car opens up in Oxford, Mississippi


The Clarion Ledger
Fri, 01 May 2015 12:29 UTC
sinkhole
© via Twitter

A sinkhole big enough to swallow a car has developed on a busy section of Mississippi Highway 6 in Oxford.

Fortunately, people spotted the hazard and authorities re-routed traffic before anybody drove into it.
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports the problem started Wednesday morning in an eastbound lane. The hole was between the exit for Jackson Avenue and one for Chucky Mullins Drive, leading to the University of Mississippi campus.

Comment: Also see:

  • Sinkhole in Breda, the Netherlands: Residents without water after main break
  • Massive 100 metre sinkhole leaves Ukrainian villagers terrified after reports it has swallowed up homes
  • Woman rescued from 35 ft deep sinkhole in Cherokee County, Texas


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Sinkhole in Breda, the Netherlands: residents without water after main break

Zack Newmark
NLTimes
Sun, 26 Apr 2015 09:08 UTC
sinkhole breda
A water main break in Breda flooded streets and left area residents without water Sunday, utility firm Brabant Water announced. The break caused a sinkhole on Haagweg, leading the company to send repair crews to the scene.

A traffic detour was set up around Haagweg, to give water crews room to work.

The incident began at about 5 a.m. The area around Haagweg and Gooren, a street 150 meters east of there, is without water until about 8 p.m., the company said less than two hours later.
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Massive 100-metre sinkhole leaves Ukrainian villagers terrified after reports it has swallowed up homes

Simon Tomlinson
Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 29 Apr 2015 18:02 UTC
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Swallowed up: This huge sinkhole measuring around 100m wide by 60m deep has appeared in the village of Solotvino in the Zakarpatska Oblast region of western Ukraine
Spanning 100 metres across and some 60 metres deep, this gigantic hole could be a meteor crater.

But it's understood to have been caused by something far closer to home - humble salt.

Terrified residents fear their homes will soon vanish after it suddenly opened up in their Ukrainian village, reportedly swallowing seven houses in the process.

Now they are demanding the government act to either stop the hole getting even bigger or move them to a new, safer location.

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Woman rescued from 35 ft deep sinkhole in Cherokee County, Texas


Tyler Morning Telegraph
Wed, 29 Apr 2015 15:26 UTC
sinkhole
© KLTV staff
One woman is in the hospital after falling into a massive sinkhole in Cherokee County.

The Lake Palestine East Fire Department tells CBS19 the accident happened on Wylie Road in the Shady Brook subdivision near Lake Palestine. The road began giving way early Monday morning and has been blocked off most of the day.

The woman slipped and fell in around 8:30 p.m. Monday while trying to put up barricades around the hole. Two firemen from the Lake Palestine East Fire Department had to go down into the sinkhole in order to pull her out. She was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.

Comment: The Earth seems to be gobbling up everything she can. Check out:
  • Sinkhole causes death of man in Panola County, Mississippi
  • Dangerous sinkhole opens up in Gateshead, UK - 'Someone could have been killed'
  • Sinkhole swallows dump truck in Aiken, South Carolina


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Over 100 landslides triggered by heavy rain leave at least 14 dead in Salvador, Brazil

Richard Davies
floodlist.com
Wed, 29 Apr 2015 13:24 UTC
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© Manu Dias/ GOVBALandslides after heavy rain in Bairro do Lobato, Salvador, Brazil, April 2015.
Local civil defence officials today confirmed that at least 14 people have been killed in landslides near the city of Salvador in the Bahia region, north-eastern Brazil. Two people are still missing. Search and rescue operations, with assistance from military personnel, will continue today.

The landslides were triggered by heavy rain that fell between 26 and 28 April 2015. More than 100 landslides have been reported in the area, nearly all of them in the poorest areas on the steep hillsides around the city, such as Bom Juá, where 4 people died, and Bairro do Lobato, shown in the photos below.

Salvador Civil defence said that the heavy rain had caused 147 landslides. Floods were reported in 17 areas of the city, and at least 21 buildings have collapsed. Flooding affected some of the city's hospitals and caused schools to close.


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© Manu Dias/ GOVBALandslides after heavy rain in Bairro do Lobato, Salvador, Brazil, April 2015.
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Sinkhole causes death of man in Panola County, Mississippi


localmemphis.com
Sat, 25 Apr 2015 16:29 UTC
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Sinkhole in Panola County
One man is dead and another is in the hospital after heavy rains formed a sink hole in Panola County Friday night.

Panola County Coroner Gracie Gulledge told Local 24 Mount Olivet Road in Batesville was washed out due to rain.

Officials say the rain led to a car accident involving a truck with two men inside. They are not sure if the truck slid off the road or crashed into the pothole.

The truck's driver was taken to the med. His neice told Local 24 he had surgery today.

The passenger, however, died. An autopsy will be performed Monday to determine if he drowned or died from crash-related injuries.
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10-foot deep sinkhole appears on road in Powell, Michigan

Christina Hall
Detroit Free Press
Fri, 24 Apr 2015 13:13 UTC
Sinkhole
© Christina Hall / Detroit Free Press
First, came the 32 Mile bridge closure.

Now drivers in northern Macomb County have to contend with another road closure a mile away thanks to a 4-foot-by-4-foot wide and 10-foot deep sinkhole.

"It's pretty deep," county Roads Department Director Bob Hoepfner said of the sinkhole on 33 Mile near Powell.

He said the county was notified of the sinkhole Wednesday night by Michigan State Police.

The sinkhole is blocked off by orange barricades and had a metal pole with yellow flags was sticking out of it this morning. Crews were coming onto the scene, and Hoepfner said he hoped the sinkhole would be repaired and the road reopened today.

Comment: Also see:
  • Sinkhole swallows garden sheds in Swanley, UK
  • Colorado city stumped by sinkhole with no broken water pipes
  • Woman plunges 8 feet down into a sinkhole in London


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Dangerous sinkhole opens up in Gateshead, UK - 'Someone could have been killed'

Lisa Hutchinson
Newcastle Chronicle
Sun, 26 Apr 2015 14:27 UTC
They say someone could have been killed or seriously hurt if they had fallen through the hole which appeared in Windsor Avenue, Bensham.
Image
© UnknownResident Sophie Storey, 20, with her daughter Angelica Mason, 10 months
Worried parents have told of their fears after a 5ft deep sink hole appeared in a Tyneside road.

The hole, measuring 2ft wide, suddenly appeared in Windsor Avenue in Bensham, Gateshead, on Thursday as families were soaking up the sunshine.

Police and council officials were called to make the area safe.

Now mums have said a child could have been killed if they had fallen through the Tarmac.

Comment: Sinkholes are quite a dangerous phenomenon, and many people have been swallowed by them. Check out the following sample from just the past few weeks:

  • Sinkhole swallows dump truck in Aiken, South Carolina
  • Woman plunges 8 feet down into a sinkhole in London


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Sinkhole swallows dump truck in Aiken, South Carolina

Maayan Schechter
Aiken Standard
Sat, 25 Apr 2015 14:31 UTC
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© Cindy KubovicAn Aiken City truck fell through a sinkhole Thursday on Moultrie Drive in the Gem Lakes extension area.
When a loaded City of Aiken dump truck drove through Gem Lakes as a test to evaluate resident complaints that the streets there were poorly constructed by the developer, it took a tow truck to get it back out when a portion of the scrutinized roadbed collapsed.

Engineers have determined a leaking storm drain under the area caused the truck to fall through the undermined road surface.

City employee Steve Brown was driving the dump truck, filled with rocks and dirt, on Moultrie Drive Thursday to test whether the roads were supportive enough to hold that amount of weight. He said the truck just "kind of started sinking on one side; it didn't just automatically happen." City crews quickly worked to free the truck, and with the help of Wayne's Automotive Towing, lifted it out of the hole successfully, but not without leaving a large footprint. Crews examined the hole by sticking a pole in to see how deep it was - the answer, about 5 feet.

Mike Goss, the supervisor over the City's utilities, said crews were going to have to cut around the hole, and then fill the area with stones for the time being.
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