Sinkhole swallows car in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

A car was trapped in a sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday 24 November 2019.  The incident happened at about 11.35 pm local time, in the Kampung Attap area of the city, when part of the road collapsed beneath the front of the moving car, trapping both the vehicle and the forty-two-year old woman driving it. The car was eventually winched out of the hole, apparently only having suffered minor damage to its front bumper.

Car trapped in a sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 24 November 2019. Adinda Qilla Apmkl/Facebook.

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.

 Workers inspecting a sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, before repairs can be attempted. BBX Press.

On this occasion geologist Nor Bakhiah Baharim of the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu has suggested that the hope appeared due to the erosion of limestone beneath the road, a substrate that underlies much of the city, and suggested that sinkholes may be a problem in the area if buried water pipes leak or burst, and that extra care should be taken in installing such pipes in areas built on limestone.

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Propane gas truck swallowed by sinkhole in Jalisco State, Mexico.

A truck carrying highly dangerous propane gas became trapped in a near-vertical position after a sinkhole opened up beneath its rear end in the Conjunto Patria neighborhood of Zapopan City in Jalisco State, Mexico, on Friday 26 October 2018. Nobody was injured in the incident, but the truck's load had to be pumped into another vehicle before it could be extracted, a potentially hazardous operation, which required the evacuation of all buildings within 250 m.

Gas truck trapped in a sinkhole in Zapopan, Mexico, on 26 October 2018. Mexico News Daily.

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.

However in this occasion the sinkhole is believed to have been caused by a ruptured water main, which washed away unconsolidated sediments beneath the road, leading to the collapse.

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Arkansas kayaker killed when sinkhole opens up beneath river.

An Arkansas kayaker died on Saturday 9 June 2018 when a sinkhole opened up on a river bed, creating a whirlpool that sucked him in. Donald Wright, 64, from Searcy, was transversing a section of the Spring River known as Dead Man's Curve in Fulton County, when the sinkhole opened up, creating a strongly swirling vortex as water was drawn into an underground cavern. A second kayaker was injured in the incident.

Whirlpool on the Spring River in Arkansas that formed when a sinkhole opened up beneath the river on 9 June 2018. AP.

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.

On this occassion the sinkhole is thought to have formed when the action of the river eroded limestone on the riverbed until it exposed an underground cave system, itself the ptoduct of thousands of years of erosion by water percolating through the rock, suddenly exposing a void beneath the river which caused the whirlpool to form. In time the cave is expected to fill with water, and the whirlpool will disappear.

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Sinkholes swallow car and undermine building in the Centurian area of Gauteng Province, South Africa.

A series of sinkholes have opened up in the Centurian area of Gauteng Province, South Africa (between Pretoria and Midrand), following heavy rains in the area. In Valhala, on Friday 23 March 2017, Mpho Borodi, 30, drove into a sinkhole on an unlit road while on his way to work, while a second driver, had her car trapped as a sinkhole opened up beneath it. In Lyttelton a commercial building was partially undermined by another sinkhole, though the Tshwane Metro Geology Department had apparently previously warned that the building was at risk, while in Makause a number of families have been forced to evacuate their homes due to a nearby sinkhole which has put them at risk.

Car trapped in a sinkhole in Valhala, Gauteng, on 23 March 2018. Centurian Rekord.

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.

 Building undermined by a sinkhole in Lyttleton, Gauteng, on 22 March 2018. Centurian Rekord.

On this occasion the sinkholes have been linked to heavy rains in the area, with over 120 mm of rain recorded in Pretoria in 24 hours, which has caused a series of flash floods in Centurian, Pretoria, Johannesburg and neighbouring parts of Gauteng‚ KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State Provinces. The immediate causes of the sinkholes have not yet been determined, but it is thought that in several cases soft sediment beneath roads has been swept away after storm drains became blocked by vegetation and other debris causing water to escape into the surrounding deposits.

Flash flood in Bryanston, Gauteng, on 23 March 2018. Eyewitness News.

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380 people evacuated from homes after massive sinkhole opens on Naples Street.

Approximately 380 people from 95 families had to be evacuated from their homes after a massive sinkhole opened up in a residential district of Naples on Sunday 22 February 2015. Nobody was injured by the incident, in which a 10 m section of road collapsed abruptly at about 5.00 am local time, and there is not thought to have been any damage to any buildings, but apartment blocks surrounding the affected area were evacuated as a precaution.

Sinkhole on a Naples street on 22 February 2015. The Independent.

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. Potash, a potassium salt, is readily soluble and can be dissolved quickly if water gains access to deposits, leading to the rapid formation of sinkholes.

On this occasion the sinkhole is thought to have been caused by a burst water main which washed away soil beneath the road, and caused the roof of a disused subway tunnel beneath the road to collapse, causing a sudden failure of the road surface at about 5.00 am, when traffic began to use the street.

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At least four killed by landslides in the southern Alps.

Four people are known to have died following landslides in the southern Alps this weekend. On Saturday 15 November 2014 a landslide destroyed a home in...

Four dead in Italian flash flood.

Four people are known to have died and about twenty more have been injured after a thunderstorm caused a flash flood near Refrontolo in the Veneto Region of northern Italy slightly before midnight on Saturday 2...

Supermarket destroyed by Italian landslide.

A branch of the supermarket Lidl was destroyed by a shallow landslide in the southern Italian town of Montescaglioso on Tuesday 3 December 2013, which also destroyed roads and severed power lines...

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Snow plow swallowed by sinkhole in New Jersey.

A snowplow was swallowed by a sinkhole in a road in Lopatcong, New Jersey, at about 7.30 am local time on Tuesday 17 February 2015. The driver of the plow is reported to have been injured in the incident, but to have been able to escape from the hole unaided, though specialist equipment was needed to remove the plow. The hole is not thought to have presented any danger to local residents, though people living close to the incident were recommended to stay at home and not to take cars out of their drives.

 Rescue team extracting the a snowplow from a sinkhole in Lopatcong, New Jersey, on Tuesday 17 February 2015. NJ.com.

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.

 

On this occasion the incident appears to have been caused by a burst water main beneath the road. A number of residents in the area reported losing water supplies the night before the incident, and it is likely that water escaping from a fractured pipeline eroded sediments away beneath the road, causing it to collapse beneath the weight of the snowplow.

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Baltimore landslide spills cars onto rail track. A landslide in the Charles Village neighbourhood of Baltimore has spilled a section of road and several parked cars onto a railway line. Part of East 26th Street Collapsed onto the CSX rail line, which carries containers to Seagirt Marine Terminal from about...

Homes evacuated after sinkhole opens up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.                                       Seven homes were evacuated as a precaution after a sinkhole opened up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Thursday 20 March 2014, and several...

Car and driver swallowed by Ohio sinkhole. An Ohio woman and her car were swallowed by a 3 m sinkhole that opened up before her on North Detroit Avenue in Toledo in the northwest of the state on Wednesday 3 July 2013. Pamela Knox, 60, saw the hole start to open up beneath the car in front of her, which was able to accelerate away, but was unable...

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Iowa sinkhole linked to nineteenth century mines.

A three meter wide, three meter deep sinkhole that opened up in Runnells, Polk County, Iowa, around the beginning of June has been linked to abandoned nineteenth century coal workings in the town by the Iowa Department of Agriculture’s Mines and Minerals Bureau. Engineers plan to begin excavation work at the site of the sinkhole, close to the home of local resident Bob Borg, on Friday 14 June 2013. The appearance of the hole necessitated the removal of a pole supporting power cables which was in danger of falling onto Mr Borg's house.

The Runnells sinkhole. Des Moines Register.

The State of Iowa required all mines to be documented and mapped from 1902 onwards, but mining began around Runnells in the 1880s, fueled by the demand for coal for paddle-steamers on the Des Moines River. A large number of mines popped up in the area at this time, many of them small, family-run operations with no effective record keeping. 

Sinkholes have been a longstanding problem in the eastern part of Runnells, though there have not been any major incidents leading to loss of life or property. Engineers from the Mines and Minerals Bureau will attempt to ascertain whether this sinkhole is the result of an abandoned mine, or another cause, such as an old well or septic tank. If an abandoned mine is found then the plan is to infill it with crushed limestone as far as possible.

The approximate location of the Runnells sinkhole.

See also Man swallowed by sinkhole in Shenzhen, South China, Florida man swallowed by sinkhole in home, Massive sinkhole opens up in Assumption Parish, Louisiana and Disaster at Gleision Colliery, Godre'r Graig, West Glamorgan. 15 September 2011.

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Man swallowed by sinkhole in Shenzhen, South China.

A man was killed in Shenzhen City in Guangdong Province on Wednesday 27 March 2013, when a huge sinkhole opened up in a pavement in a residential area, swallowing him whole. Twenty-five-year-old security guard Yang Jiabin was swallowed instantly when the hole, described as eight meters wide and sixteen meters deep, opened up beneath him. He was pulled from the hole by rescuers, but died later in hospital.

Sinkhole in Shenzhen City which opened up on 27 March 2013. Guardian.

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. This particular one appears to have been formed when drainage pipes beneath the surface burst and washed away deposits. The area has been suffering heavy rainfall, which may have caused the pipes to overload, or they may have been damaged by work on a construction site adjacent to the affected pavement. Local authorities have launched an investigation.

See also Florida man swallowed by sinkhole in home, A fossil Bird from the Eocene of Guangdong Province, China and Massive sinkhole opens up in Assumption Parish, Louisiana.

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Florida man swallowed by sinkhole in home.

Around 11.00 pm local time on Thursday 27 February 2013, the family of Florida man Jeff Bush heard a loud crash followed by screaming from his bedroom, in Faithway Drive, Seffner near Tampa. His brother, Jeremy, rushed into the room to find the a mattress disappearing into a hole in the floor and nor sign of Mr Bush. Jeremy leapt into the hole, which was continuing to grow, but was unable to find his brother, who is now missing presumed dead. Several nearby houses have now been cordoned off, while Hillsborough County Fire Rescue attempt to locate Mr Bush and determine how far the hole will spread.

Deputies from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office setting up a cordon around homes affected by the sinkhole. Reuters/Brian Blanco.

Southwest Florida is particularly prone to sinkholes, thought the Seffner Sinkhole is considered exceptional, due to the porous limestone that underlies much of the area. This is eroded over time by acid in rainwater (most rainwater is slightly acidic, though pollution can make this worse), and can collapse suddenly, causing overlying sediments to collapse into the hole and a sinkhole to open up. This can be triggered by human activity, such as pumping water out (which causes the water to flow, facilitating acid dissolution of the limestone), but is essentially a natural process. 

Graphic showing the processes by which sinkholes can form in southern Florida. Southwest Florida Water Management District.

See also To cull or not to cull? The Goliath Grouper in Floridan waters, Massive sinkhole opens up in Assumption Parish, Louisiana.

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Massive sinkhole opens up in Assumption Parish, Louisiana.

On 3 August 2012 an area of woodland 100 m across in Assumption Parish, Louisiana, unexpectedly sunk 130 m into the ground, the tops of the Cyprus trees just visible through the mire that filled the hole. Local authorities have issued a mandatory evacuation order on about 150 homes in the area; this is short of a full compulsory evacuation order, and does allow people the option of remaining in their homes for the time being. The nearby Highway 70 was briefly close, while damage to a natural gas pipeline was investigated, but has now reopened.

Areal photograph of the Assumption Parish sinkhole. The tops of trees can be sen in the water that has flooded the hole. ABC News.

When the sinkhole opened up bubbling was observed at the surface and an oily sheen observed, causing concern that the hole could be linked to previous oil and gas exploration in the area, with the possibility of radioactive contamination (crude oil in some areas contains radioactive material). But investigations by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality revealed the oily material to be mostly diesel oil and found no trace of radioactive material.

The hole is now being linked to a brine extraction operation run by the Texas Brine Company in the area until last year. Such operations extract salt from subterranean deposits by injecting water into the saltbeds then removing the water with the dissolved salt, which can then be recovered and sold. Such operations can cause subsidence by removing layers of salt from underneath overlying rock beds. The Texas Brine Company, which still retains responsibility for the site, is drilling an exploratory borehole to try to determine the state of the salt caverns beneath the area, and is said to have made a 'substantial contribution' to a fund to assist residents of the evacuation zone, though how this fund will be administered is still not clear.

See also United States Geological Survey releases new topographical maps of California, Louisiana and Mississippi, How the Deepwater Horizon oil spill effected wildlife on the Gulf of Mexico, BP hopes to have reached settlement with thousands of Gulf Oil Spill victims and BP takes legal action against Halliburton over Deepwater Horizon disaster.

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