Florida Sinkhole Tragedy—Could It Happen Here?
Pennsylvania named among top seven states most at risk for sinkholes.
Patch sites in Brandon, Fla. are reporting on a man who was swallowed by a massive sinkhole while he slept. The news has the nation wondering how this could happen.
A sinkhole partially swallowed a tractor trailer near Bethlehem and another sinkhole situation led to home evacuations in nearby Hanover Township in 2011.
Emergency crews even rescued a dog from a sinkhole in the Lehigh Valley.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) says the holes are "an area of ground that has no natural external surface drainage."
"When it rains, all of the water stays inside the sinkhole and typically drains into the subsurface."
When the rock surrounding the surface is saturated with water, it will "naturally be dissolved by ground water circulating through them," according to USGS.
But what does a massive sinkhole in Florida have to do with Pennsylvania? Along with the Sunshine State, Pennsylvania is listed in the top seven states in the nation to have such sizeable sinkholes.
"The most damage from sinkholes tends to occur in Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania," said the USGS site.
Just this past spring, a sizeable hole caused a major mess for traffic in King of Prussia. When the intersection at Crooked and Manor lanes was replaced with a sinkhole, many went without water service. A Pennsylvania American Water line cracked in the creation of the sinkhole, taking hours to repair.
Another sinkhole was created in April 2012 in Forks Township in the Lehigh Valley, putting a nearby elementary school's staff on edge.
On Friday, Patch sites outside of Pittsburgh, Pa. reported that an underground cement box created a massive sinkhole in a parking lot.
According to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) of Pennsylvania, the state is filled with developments on areas of rock that often have been known to cause sinkholes.
Nazaretti
11:29 am on Saturday, March 2, 2013
Limestone bedrock (also called karst or carbonate) is prone to sinkhole formation, because it can dissolve in groundwater. It also underlies some of the Valley's most productive farmland - see this map from the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission:
http://lvpc.org/pdf/maps/steepSlope&CarbonateGeology.pdf
I see one or two sinkholes in nearby farm fields every year. If you live in a limestone bedrock area, you might make sure your homeowners insurance policy includes coverage for damage caused by sinkhole formation.
Jay Impink
7:11 pm on Saturday, March 2, 2013
Agree totally with Nazaretti. If you do not have sinkhole insurance, you are a fool indeed. This area is moving steadily to a "karst" region, (one in which sinkholes dominate). The groundwater dissolves limestone, but ironically, collapses occur in dry times when then water table lowers. The water has a buoyant effect. This occurred in the Center Valley area when the NJ zinc mine was operated. he pumping of the water to keep the bottom of the mine usable (2000ft down) lowered the water table causing sinkholes. Bottom line...If you are underlain by limestone, you are vulnerable. Get the insurance. Not cheap, but worth it,
Michael D Siegel
10:05 am on Sunday, March 3, 2013
many people have forgotten the corporate plaza sinkhole, the macungie sinkhole and the vera cruz rd sinkhole.Patch should do an update story on these to remind our new residents of these natural hazards. Percy Dougherty is the expert on these sinkholes
Carla Smith
9:10 pm on Sunday, March 3, 2013
My Prayers go out to the family in Florida. I thank God everyday that he kept our family safe while we were going through our disaster of sinkhole devastation from Feb15 2012-Sept 5 2012. We called our insurance,local,state,gov agencies,Blair county,Logan Twshp,DEP,Engineers,Geological spec,FEMA, etc. No one helped. We lived in this house at 325 Greenwood Road Altoona PA 16602 for 7 months in constant fear. Kettle Creek started developing a sinkhole the size of a basketball and everyday it got bigger. You could hear pebbles and rocks falling as the water was eroding away the soil. We heard cracking noises Feb 22,2012 and had to move out of our bedrooms up to the upper end of the house and live in the den. The ins. did not cover sinkholes.The engineer from our ins. reported the house a danger and threat to human life. The ins said if we did not fix the house,creek, cut trees they were going to cancel us. The Geological Senior Specialist told us that he had been out to this property back in 1985-1991 for issues of the creek and sinkholes that the property had a past history of being littered with sinkholes. The house and property continued to crumble,sink,erode and the brick side wall collapsed in August.We were told by DEP,there were no funds when all this was happening. The house is in forclosure now. The house is inhabitable and dangerous. We had to finally get out afraid for our lives. I give it to God. I live by faith. God will see us through this. Carla Smith.
Parkland Parent
11:05 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Just a reminder folks. Sinkhole coverage for your residence ONLY covers you in the event it does damage to the structure/foundation. Translation - Sinkhole opens up in the middle of your yard or driveway, YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.