sinkhole – Ahmad Ali Karim's Weblog

Photos: Baltimore Sinkhole Swallowed Cars, Streetlights and Trees

Three days after severe storms and tornadoes killed at least 31 people in the United States South and Mid-West, the region has been hit by severe flash flooding.

The heavy rains have caused an enormous sinkhole to open up at 26th Street and North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland at around 4 p.m. on Wednesday near the train tracks used by CSX rail traffic.

Streetlights, cars and tress were swallowed into the sinkhole, but fire department officials don’t believe anyone was injured in the incident.

The landslide swept across a set of train tracks and resulted in the suspension of some CSX rail traffic.

People living on the block and surrounding area have been evacuated.

Please click the photos for larger images:

Shocking Video Of Giant Sinkhole Swallowing Houses In Rio Slum

Mail Online reported that:

“Residents in a town in the north of Brazil screamed in horror as they watched their homes disappear into massive sink holes on the weekend. “

The CCTV footage below shows how a giant sinkhole, which is reportedly caused by water erosion, opened up and swallowed house after house the city of Abaetetuba, in the northern state of Para in Brazil.

Please watch the video closely to see how panic residents frantically running to a house on the right of the screen as a woman on the first floor resorted to desperate measures by throwing her child out of a window.

The child was caught and was quickly carried away by helpers.

The neighbours then brought a ladder to the house to help the woman escaped just before the building was swallowed into the sinkhole.

Luckily, nobody was injured in the disaster.

The area was affected by the erosion borders the Maracatuíra river, which runs through the town.

According to environmental experts who have been inspecting the area, the construction of houses close to the river and the uncontrolled growth of the neighbourhood are at the root of the problem, and are the main cause of the tragedy.

The removal of vegetation from the an area close to the banks affects the soils rate of absorption.

Water that would have previously infiltrated tree and plant roots is no longer absorbed naturally and with nowhere to go soaks into and begins to erode the earth.

Florida Man Swallowed By Sinkhole Feared Dead

A man feared dead after he was swallowed by a sinkhole in his suburban Tampa home in Seffner, Florida.

(Please click here for the photos)

Reuters reported that Jeff Bush, 37, was in his bedroom Thursday night when the sinkhole suddenly swallowed him and the entire bedroom into the ground.

The sinkhole was estimated 20 feet across and 20 feet deep.

It caused the home’s concrete floor to cave in around 11 p.m. Thursday.

Fortunately five other people in the house were unharmed.

Bush’s brother Jeremy Bush jumped into the hole and tried to dig to find his brother but he could not find him.

He was rescued by Douglas Duvall of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office who pulled him out from the sinkhole.

The sinkhole is slowly growing and it was feared that the entire house could eventually falls into the unstable ground.

Engineers said the house may have to be demolished, even though from the outside the house seems to be alright.

They took soil samples and ran various tests and found that the entire lot was dangerous.

Reuters reported that,”Authorities had not detected any signs of life after lowering listening devices and cameras into the hole and rescue efforts were suspended after the site was deemed too unsafe for emergency personnel to enter”.

Two adjacent houses were evacuated and officials were considering further evacuations.

“This is not your typical sinkhole,” said Hillsborough County administrator Mike Merrill.

Florida is highly prone to sinkholes because there are caverns below ground of limestone, a porous rock that easily dissolves in water.

This is a disaster.

But when it happens away from buildings and roads, it could turn out to be nice and beautiful places after a long time; please click here for ‘Photos: Amazing Sinkholes Around The World’.

Huge Sinkholes Around The World – Photos

A sinkhole is a natural depression or hole in the Earth’s surface caused by:

Carbonated rocks such as limestone can be dissolved by water, especially acidic water.

When the carbonated rocks dissolved, there will be empty space or hole under the ground.

When there is nothing more to support the surface land, the gravity caused the surface land to suddenly collapse into the underground hole.

And that causes a sinkhole.

Suffosion processes can also cause sinkholes.

This picture will explain the suffosion processes.

Sinkholes are very dangerous especially when it happens in the city under big buildings or busy highways.

In 2010, a giant sinkhole in Guatemala City caused by heavy rain from Tropical Storm Agatha swallowed at least one three-story building!

This is a disaster.

Here are photos of some sinkholes:

Photos – Tropical Storm Debby Drenches Northern Florida, June 25, 2012

Tropical Storm Debby sent heavy rains, high wind causing floods, sinkholes and damages in Northern Florida.

This is a disaster.

Please click below for the related post:

Three days after severe storms and tornadoes killed at least 31 people in the United States South and Mid-West, the region has been hit by severe flash flooding.

The heavy rains have caused an enormous sinkhole to open up at 26th Street and North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland at around 4 p.m. on Wednesday near the train tracks used by CSX rail traffic.

Streetlights, cars and tress were swallowed into the sinkhole, but fire department officials don’t believe anyone was injured in the incident.

The landslide swept across a set of train tracks and resulted in the suspension of some CSX rail traffic.

People living on the block and surrounding area have been evacuated.

Please click the photos for larger images:

Mail Online reported that:

“Residents in a town in the north of Brazil screamed in horror as they watched their homes disappear into massive sink holes on the weekend. “

The CCTV footage below shows how a giant sinkhole, which is reportedly caused by water erosion, opened up and swallowed house after house the city of Abaetetuba, in the northern state of Para in Brazil.

Please watch the video closely to see how panic residents frantically running to a house on the right of the screen as a woman on the first floor resorted to desperate measures by throwing her child out of a window.

The child was caught and was quickly carried away by helpers.

The neighbours then brought a ladder to the house to help the woman escaped just before the building was swallowed into the sinkhole.

Luckily, nobody was injured in the disaster.

The area was affected by the erosion borders the Maracatuíra river, which runs through the town.

According to environmental experts who have been inspecting the area, the construction of houses close to the river and the uncontrolled growth of the neighbourhood are at the root of the problem, and are the main cause of the tragedy.

The removal of vegetation from the an area close to the banks affects the soils rate of absorption.

Water that would have previously infiltrated tree and plant roots is no longer absorbed naturally and with nowhere to go soaks into and begins to erode the earth.

A man feared dead after he was swallowed by a sinkhole in his suburban Tampa home in Seffner, Florida.

Reuters reported that Jeff Bush, 37, was in his bedroom Thursday night when the sinkhole suddenly swallowed him and the entire bedroom into the ground.

The sinkhole was estimated 20 feet across and 20 feet deep.

It caused the home’s concrete floor to cave in around 11 p.m. Thursday.

Fortunately five other people in the house were unharmed.

Bush’s brother Jeremy Bush jumped into the hole and tried to dig to find his brother but he could not find him.

He was rescued by Douglas Duvall of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office who pulled him out from the sinkhole.

The sinkhole is slowly growing and it was feared that the entire house could eventually falls into the unstable ground.

Engineers said the house may have to be demolished, even though from the outside the house seems to be alright.

They took soil samples and ran various tests and found that the entire lot was dangerous.

Reuters reported that,”Authorities had not detected any signs of life after lowering listening devices and cameras into the hole and rescue efforts were suspended after the site was deemed too unsafe for emergency personnel to enter”.

Two adjacent houses were evacuated and officials were considering further evacuations.

“This is not your typical sinkhole,” said Hillsborough County administrator Mike Merrill.

Florida is highly prone to sinkholes because there are caverns below ground of limestone, a porous rock that easily dissolves in water.

This is a disaster.

But when it happens away from buildings and roads, it could turn out to be nice and beautiful places after a long time; please click here for ‘Photos: Amazing Sinkholes Around The World’.

A sinkhole is a natural depression or hole in the Earth’s surface caused by:

karst processes or the chemical dissolution of carbonated rocks or salt beds.

suffosion processes for example in sandstone.

Carbonated rocks such as limestone can be dissolved by water, especially acidic water.

When the carbonated rocks dissolved, there will be empty space or hole under the ground.

When there is nothing more to support the surface land, the gravity caused the surface land to suddenly collapse into the underground hole.

And that causes a sinkhole.

Suffosion processes can also cause sinkholes.

This picture will explain the suffosion processes.

Sinkholes are very dangerous especially when it happens in the city under big buildings or busy highways.

In 2010, a giant sinkhole in Guatemala City caused by heavy rain from Tropical Storm Agatha swallowed at least one three-story building!

This is a disaster.

Here are photos of some sinkholes:

Tropical Storm Debby sent heavy rains, high wind causing floods, sinkholes and damages in Northern Florida.

This is a disaster.

Please click below for the related post: