Sinkhole in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, forces residents to flee homes.

Residents of a street in the village of Plains in North Lanarkshire have been forced to flee their homes after a sinkhole opened up on the road overnight between Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 17 March 2016. The hole is about 10 m wide and about 3 m deep, and has not at this time caused structural damage to any homes at this time; the evacuations have been carried out in case there is damage to underground gas or water mains or the sinkhole expands further.

Sinkhole in Plains, North Lanarkshire, on 17 March 2016. PressTeam Scotland.

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.

The cause of the Plains sinkhole has not yet been established, though it is thought to ba associated with heavy rainfall in the area earlier this week, which may have affected old mine-workings beneath the area.

Ground collapses thought to be associated with old mine workings, collapsed mines or mine entrances, unsealed mine entrances or gas or water emissions from old mine workings in the UK can be reported to the  Coal Authority here.

See also...

Magnitude 1.1 Earthquake in North Lanarkshire, Scotland.                         The British Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 1.1 Earthquake at a depth of about 7 km about 1 km to the southwest of the town of Shotts in North...

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Magnitude 1.1 Earthquake in North Lanarkshire, Scotland.

The British Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 1.1 Earthquake at a depth of about 7 km about 1 km to the southwest of the town of Shotts in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, slightly before 9.45 am British Summertime (slightly before 10.45 am GMT) on Friday 11 September 2015. This was not a major event, and presented no threat to human life or property, but may have been felt locally.

The approximate location of the 11 September 2015 North Lanarkshire Earthquake. Google Maps.

Earthquakes become more common as you travel north and west in Great Britain, with the west coast of Scotland being the most quake-prone part of the island and the northwest of Wales being more prone  to quakes than the rest of Wales or most of England. 

The precise cause of Earthquakes in the UK can be hard to determine; the country is not close to any obvious single cause of such activity such as a plate margin, but is subject to tectonic pressures from several different sources, with most quakes probably being the result of the interplay between these forces.

Britain is being pushed to the east by the expansion of the Atlantic Ocean and to the north by the impact of Africa into Europe from the south. It is also affected by lesser areas of tectonic spreading beneath the North Sea, Rhine Valley and Bay of Biscay. Finally the country is subject to glacial rebound; until about 10 000 years ago much of the north of the country was covered by a thick layer of glacial ice (this is believed to have been thickest on the west coast of Scotland), pushing the rocks of the British lithosphere down into the underlying mantle. This ice is now gone, and the rocks are springing (slowly) back into their original position, causing the occasional Earthquake in the process. 

(Top) Simplified diagram showing principle of glacial rebound. Wikipedia. (Bottom) Map showing the rate of glacial rebound in various parts of the UK. Note that some parts of England and Wales show negative values, these areas are being pushed down slightly by uplift in Scotland, as the entire landmass is quite rigid and acts a bit like a see-saw. Climate North East.

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. If you felt this quake, or were in the area but did not (which is also useful information) then you can report it to the British Geological Survey here.

See also...

Magnitude 2.0 Earthquake in Midlothian, Scotland.

The British Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 2.0 Earthquake at a depth of 6 km in southwest Midlothian, Scotland, about 10 km to the south of...

Earthquake near Peebles in the Scottish Borders.

The British Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 1.8 Earthquake at a depth of 4 km beneath the village of Cadrona in the Scottish Borders, roughly 5 km east of...

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