Of all of Earth’s phenomena maybe no other occurrence is more terrifying than the sinkhole. Unlike other weather events, sinkholes often form without warning, sucking everything above — houses, cars, even people — into the cavernous expanse of terra below.
Despite their volatility, sinkholes form due to a somewhat predictable combination of geology and weather. In areas like Florida where the rock below the land’s surface is easily dissolved by flowing groundwater, caverns — sinkholes — form below the surface, collecting water and destabilizing the earth above, according to the United States Geological Survey. Because these subterranean caverns have no external surface drainage, long bouts of rain can cause water to pool, leading to further destabilization, and in some instances, cataclysmic collapse.
And it’s that moment of collapse, the spontaneous convulsion of earth, that sows our deepest fears.
Guatemala City: June 2010
Shaky geology, shoddy infrastructure and weather contributed to not one, but two apocalyptic-looking sinkholes in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The first, a 330-foot-deep behemoth, killed three people and forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 others when it opened up in the heart of a densely packed Guatemala City neighborhood, the Washington Post reports. Officials were quick to attribute the blame to a ruptured sewer, which slowly eroded the loose, porous layer of volcanic rock beneath the city. After storms dumped more rain on the area, the fragile surface above the chasm below gave way, forming a hole deeper than the Statue of Liberty, National Geographic reports.
Just three years later, Guatemala City’s bowels opened again when a 60-foot-wide, 300-foot-deep sinkhole formed, swallowing a three-story building in the process. Initially, Tropical Storm Agatha, which dumped 4-to-8 inches of rain on the area just days before, was blamed for the incident. But once again officials found that a decrepit sewer system had been leaking fluid into the surrounding bedrock, causing the initial cavern to form, National Geographic reports.
Winter Park, Fla.: May 1981
A trip to Winter Park, Fla., offers up little evidence of what The Guardian reports was once the largest sinkhole formation ever observed by man. Over the course of two days in May 1981, the ground in central Florida steadily gave way, consuming a home, a Porsche dealership and a public swimming pool en route to a 350-foot-wide, 75-foot-deep crater. Thankfully the owner of the home, Mae Rose Williams, had adequate time to evacuate, escaping the wrath of a sinkhole that gripped national interest and caused $ 4 million in damage, The Orlando Sentinel reports. Once the hole stopped growing, dirt and concrete were dumped in and the site was developed into a manmade lake dubbed “Lake Rose” in honor of Williams, who died in 1995.
Hollywood, Calif.: 1995
California set the stage for yet another major sinkhole in 1995, when three blocks of Los Angeles’ famed Hollywood Boulevard fell victim to a 60-foot-deep fissure. According to the Los Angeles Times, increased rainfall coupled with faulty subway construction collapsed the large section of asphalt, forcing construction workers to flee a torrent of onrushing water in the tunnels below. The mishap cost the city $ 6.7 million in repairs and shut down the busy thoroughfare for months. No injuries were reported.
Toledo, Ohio: July 2013
Even a moving vehicle can’t escape the sinkhole’s wrath. As Pamela Knox, 60, was cruising through the streets of Toledo, Ohio, in her Chevy Malibu, a 20-foot deep sinkhole opened up beneath her, swallowing her and her car, whole. Knox escaped the ordeal with minor injuries, but her car was a total wash. 13abc.com reported that a collapsed sewer line and water main washed out the ground below the road, causing the collapse.
San Francisco: 1995
For 10 straight days rain pelted the slopes of San Francisco’s affluent Sea Cliff community, choking the ancient sewer system that weaved beneath the foundations of the neighborhood’s multi-million dollar homes. On a brisk Monday morning the 100-year-old brick sewer finally gave way, sending plumes of sewage and storm runoff into the yards and streets of Sea Cliff. The surge of fluid quickly eroded the surrounding land, opening up a sinkhole that eventually grew to 240-feet-long, 150-feet-wide and more than 40-feet-deep, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The neighborhood stood no chance. A $ 1.5 million home cascaded into the pit, and manicured lawns and streets quickly folded into the abyss alongside it. Independent investigations later revealed that construction, decaying piping, and the surrounding soil all contributed to the formation of the hole, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Daisetta, Texas: 2008
Only about 1,000 people call the tiny Texas town of Daisetta home, but the locale plays host to a series of Texas-sized sinkholes. The first, a nominally sized hole, appeared in 1969, the Houston Chronicle reports, but in 1981 grew overnight to a staggering 250 feet wide and 30 feet deep. But both incidents would be overshadowed in 2008, when, on the opposite of town, the ground gave way to a sinkhole that would grow to 600-feet-wide, 525-feet-long, and more than 150-feet-deep, The New York Times reports. At the height of expansion, the pit grew at nearly 20 feet an hour, sucking in trees, telephone poles, even the cab of an 18-wheeler.
All of the incidents can be chalked up to Daisetta’s geology, expedited by human interference. Much like the sinkhole in Bayou Corne, La. (described below), Daisetta rests upon a massive underground salt dome. According to the United States Geological Survey, portions of the dome collapsed after fluid injections from oil companies in the area weakened the structural integrity of the dome, leading to the formation of the 2008 sinkhole.
Mulberry, Fla.: June 1994
Rural Florida nearly played host to an environmental catastrophe when a 15-story sinkhole developed in an 80-million ton pile of phosphogypsum waste at a IMC-Agrico phosphate mine in Mulberry. The 120-foot-wide gape sent up to 6 million cubic feet of toxic and radioactive waste cascading more than 180 feet into the earth and into Florida’s aquifer, according to U.S. News and World Report. IMC-Agrico spent nearly $ 7 million to stop the chemicals from contaminating Florida’s primary source of drinking water.
Clermont, Fla.: August 2013
So there you are, tucked snugly into the sheets in the bedroom of a Florida resort, dreaming of a day spent eating turkey legs and pulling g’s in roller coasters at Disney World when the ground opens up beneath you and swallows you whole. That might seem like a macabre scene out of a nightmare, but for residents of Summer Bay Resort in Clermont, Fla., the 120-foot-wide sinkhole that swallowed a three-story building was a terrifying reality.
At around 11 p.m. loud cracking sounds rang out in the hallways, windows blew out and the foundation slowly slipped into the expanse below. Residents had just 10 to 15 minutes to escape the clutches of death, the Orlando Sentinel reports, but thanks to the swift actions of an on-site security guard all walked away uninjured and alive. The buildings weren’t so lucky; the three structures damaged by the sinkhole were demolished later that year, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Louisiana: August 2013
In the heart of the Louisiana bayou a super-sized sinkhole is expanding by the minute, sucking up trees, liquefying swampland and displacing residents. But unlike traditional sinkholes, which form through natural processes, the 25 acre hole in Bayou Corne, La., formed due to human interference. In 2012, the petrochemical company Texas Brine drilled into a hollowed out a salt cavern in the Napoleonville Dome — a naturally occurring sub-surface salt deposit — causing it to collapse, according to The Atlantic.
In the year following the initial collapse, the sinkhole grew in stature from one acre to an imposing 25 acres, periodically “burping” up crude oil and debris along the way. Because of the risks associated with the site, all 350 residents of Bayou Corne were advised to evacuate, prompting fines, and lawsuits from the state of Louisiana.
The future of the sinkhole is uncertain, but officials anticipate the sinkhole will dissipate after it sucks in enough debris to fill the expanse below.
Tampa, Fla.: February 2013
Late one February evening, Jeff Bush, 37, climbed into bed in his Seffner, Fla., home, unaware that it would be the last time he’d do so. As Bush slept, a sinkhole collapsed directly below his bed, tossing his body into the Earth as the floor collapsed around him. Jeremy Bush, 36, Jeff’s brother, heard his brother’s screams and jumped into the hole in an attempt to save him, but Jeff was nowhere to be found. Rescuers arrived on the scene, but the sinkhole continued to collapse, forcing rescue operations to cease, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The home was razed shortly thereafter, illuminating a sinkhole 15-feet-wide and 20-feet-deep. Bush’s body was never recovered and he was later presumed dead.
PHOTOS: Incredible Sinkholes Around the World | The Weather Channel - The Weather Channel
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