Two houses have been partially destroyed by a sinkhole in Manchester, England, and it is thought the situation will get worse before it is brought under control. The situation began on the evening of Wednesday 20 January 2021, when a three metre wide sinkhole appeared suddenly outside the houses, in the Abbey Hey area of the city, swallowing a parked car, and prompting local emergency services to evacuate the four houses closest to the hole. The frontages of two of the houses collapsed into the hole later that evening, and there is concern that the remainder of the buildings is sagging and likely to also collapse.
Damage to houses caused by a sinkhole in the Abbey Hey area of Manchester, England, on 20 January 2021. Sean Hansford/Manchester Evening News.
Sinkholes
are generally caused by water eroding soft limestone or unconsolidated
deposits from beneath, causing a hole that works its way upwards and
eventually opening spectacularly at the surface. Where there are
unconsolidated deposits at the surface they can infill from the sides,
apparently swallowing objects at the surface, including people, without
trace.
Emergency services attending the scene of a sinkhole in the Abbey Hey area of Manchester, England. Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.
The cause of this particular sinkhole is still unclear. United Utilities initially described the hole as having been caused by a collapsed sewer, but has now changed statement, and is describing the cause as being under investigation. Manchester has suffered an increasing number of sinkholes in recent years, despite being built largely on sand and sandstone, silicate rocks which are not prone to dissolution. Domenico Lombardi of the University of Manchester has attributed these problems to the city's aging sewer system, combined with the presence of some former mined in the city, a rising population (which means more water consumption and wastewater generation), and a increasing rainfall in the area over the past decade. Where water and sewage pipes passing through soft sandstone or unconsolidated sands begin to leak, they can generate sinkholes very quickly as large amounts of water suddenly start flowing in directions not causes by natural drainage.
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