U.K. sinkhole consumes backyards, forces evacuations
Meteorologist
Saturday, November 12, 2016, 4:31 PM - A resident of Ripon in North Yorkshire, U.K., had the - hopefully - once in a lifetime experience of live-tweeting his backyard being devoured by a massive sinkhole this week.
The hole, which measures about 20 metres by 10 metres, opened on Wednesday night, and has forced the evacuation of twelve homes thus far.
The depression is estimated to be about 9 metres deep.
30ft deep sink hole enveloping the back garden occurred at 10.30. Been told to leave the house for the night.
— Ben Bramley (@BendyPotter) November 9, 2016
No injuries were reported, though it was a narrow miss for at least one resident of Magdalen's Road.
74-year-old Frances O'Neill told BBC News, "I was just going to go down the steps that lead to my garden and realised there were no steps and the ground was moving. I turned back around, grabbed hold of a metal pole and pulled myself up and back into the house."
When gardening goes wrong... pic.twitter.com/ynpFwAo94j
— Ben Bramley (@BendyPotter) November 10, 2016
Experts from the British Geological Survey (B.G.S.) were on scene on Friday, attempting to determine if it was safe for any of the evacuees to return home.
Speaking to ITV News, Dr Tony Cooper of the B.G.S. said it was an natural sinkhole caused by gypsum dissolving underground. Cooper said the hole would continue collapsing "for some time".
The B.G.S. told BBC News Ripon lies in "one of the most susceptible areas of the UK for sinkholes" because of the underlying gypsum deposits. Another house in the area had to be demolished after a sinkhole more than 7 metres wide opened up in 2014.
Further cracks have been appearing in the pavement and walls of the surrounding area since the main hole opened on Wednesday; signs of further subsidence in the area.
There are concerns that wet weather this weekend will exacerbate the problem further. Heavy rain was reported at weather stations in the area in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Ben Bramley, who's tweets first announced the unwelcome visitor in his yard, told BBC News he was uncertain when they would be able to return home. "The fire brigade and contractors were saying that it's likely to be structurally unsafe for a period of time, so we would need to move out," he said. "We might even be officially homeless."
It was an active week in the world of sinkholes. A massive sinkhole in Japan was caught on video as it devoured a busy intersection on Tuesday.
Sources: ITV | BBC | The Guardian
Header image & thumbnail source: Ben Bramley/@BendyPotter
