This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/01/sinkhole-opens-in-st-albans-street
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Sinkhole opens in St Albans street | Sinkhole opens in St Albans street |
| (7 days later) | |
| A 20-metre sinkhole has appeared on a residential street in St Albans, causing several families to be evacuated and leaving scores of homes without water, electricity and gas. | A 20-metre sinkhole has appeared on a residential street in St Albans, causing several families to be evacuated and leaving scores of homes without water, electricity and gas. |
| Related: What are sinkholes and what causes them? | Related: What are sinkholes and what causes them? |
| People living in Fontmell Close in the Hertfordshire town heard a crash during the night and looked out to see the road had collapsed, the Herts Advertiser newspaper reported. | People living in Fontmell Close in the Hertfordshire town heard a crash during the night and looked out to see the road had collapsed, the Herts Advertiser newspaper reported. |
| The damage meant some residents could not leave their homes via their front entrances and had to walk through neighbours’ gardens instead. | The damage meant some residents could not leave their homes via their front entrances and had to walk through neighbours’ gardens instead. |
| The 20-metre-diameter hole spreads across a front garden and driveway and is 10 metres deep. | The 20-metre-diameter hole spreads across a front garden and driveway and is 10 metres deep. |
| Officials from the national grid spent Thursday assessing the quiet cul de sac, as local residents peered out from behind their doors and a helicopter buzzed overhead. | Officials from the national grid spent Thursday assessing the quiet cul de sac, as local residents peered out from behind their doors and a helicopter buzzed overhead. |
| At least 10 people who lives next to the hole were evacuated to nearby Batchwood Hall. Fifty-eight homes in the area are without gas, electric and water. | At least 10 people who lives next to the hole were evacuated to nearby Batchwood Hall. Fifty-eight homes in the area are without gas, electric and water. |
| A small hole in the road appeared a few days ago, according to the service’s watch commander, John Hudnott, of St Albans fire service, but it had been thought this was because of a leak in a water main. | A small hole in the road appeared a few days ago, according to the service’s watch commander, John Hudnott, of St Albans fire service, but it had been thought this was because of a leak in a water main. |
| He said: “They had a sinkhole in Hemel [Hempstead] this year or last but I’ve never seen one like this. I have absolutely no idea how long it’s going to take to get the power back on. We thought it was the water leak but now we’re not so sure.” | He said: “They had a sinkhole in Hemel [Hempstead] this year or last but I’ve never seen one like this. I have absolutely no idea how long it’s going to take to get the power back on. We thought it was the water leak but now we’re not so sure.” |
| Fontmell Close residents Gemma and Ben Bagshaw called the police in the middle of the night after hearing a rumbling noise. Ben said: “I said to my wife ‘the road’s disappeared’. We told the neighbours, some of them were still asleep, I started chucking stones at their windows to wake them up.” | Fontmell Close residents Gemma and Ben Bagshaw called the police in the middle of the night after hearing a rumbling noise. Ben said: “I said to my wife ‘the road’s disappeared’. We told the neighbours, some of them were still asleep, I started chucking stones at their windows to wake them up.” |
| Gemma added: “We jumped across the grass across our house and he shouted: ‘Call the police again, it’s just got bigger’. Then we smelt the gas. The emergency services arrived and took over evacuating the rest of our neighbours. | Gemma added: “We jumped across the grass across our house and he shouted: ‘Call the police again, it’s just got bigger’. Then we smelt the gas. The emergency services arrived and took over evacuating the rest of our neighbours. |
| “I’m pregnant and I was due last Friday. We grabbed the bare essentials and ran, basic hospital bag which doesn’t even have everything in it that I need for the baby … We’ll be living with my parents until we hear more and know it’s safe. If this doesn’t bring the labour on I don’t know what will.” | “I’m pregnant and I was due last Friday. We grabbed the bare essentials and ran, basic hospital bag which doesn’t even have everything in it that I need for the baby … We’ll be living with my parents until we hear more and know it’s safe. If this doesn’t bring the labour on I don’t know what will.” |
| Frank Kalcozi, 80, was said to be distraught after he was told he may have to move into a care home. His daughter Maria Ellwood, 53, who used to work for the NHS, said: “All these residents, many of whom are elderly, woke up with no electricity and no water. It’s absolutely devastating and very, very traumatic. My dad was already depressed. We’ve got social services here at the moment and they are assessing him to see whether he can go into a nursing home.” | Frank Kalcozi, 80, was said to be distraught after he was told he may have to move into a care home. His daughter Maria Ellwood, 53, who used to work for the NHS, said: “All these residents, many of whom are elderly, woke up with no electricity and no water. It’s absolutely devastating and very, very traumatic. My dad was already depressed. We’ve got social services here at the moment and they are assessing him to see whether he can go into a nursing home.” |
| She said she noticed a hole when she and her father went for a walk last week. She said: “I know that the water authority had issued a report on a burst water main. The council should have dealt with it, and then suddenly overnight this huge crater appeared.” | She said she noticed a hole when she and her father went for a walk last week. She said: “I know that the water authority had issued a report on a burst water main. The council should have dealt with it, and then suddenly overnight this huge crater appeared.” |
| Ellwood said her father came to England after the Hungarian uprising in 1956. He moved to Fontmell Close 10 years ago, after the death of his wife. | Ellwood said her father came to England after the Hungarian uprising in 1956. He moved to Fontmell Close 10 years ago, after the death of his wife. |
| Hertfordshire fire and rescue service said at least 10 people were taken to an evacuation centre set up at nearby Batchwood Hall. Gas and electricity supplies had been isolated while crews assessed the damage. | Hertfordshire fire and rescue service said at least 10 people were taken to an evacuation centre set up at nearby Batchwood Hall. Gas and electricity supplies had been isolated while crews assessed the damage. |
| Related: North Yorkshire home wrecked by ninth sinkhole in a month | Related: North Yorkshire home wrecked by ninth sinkhole in a month |
| Sinkholes are created when the surface layer of the ground collapses. In August, a sinkhole opened up on one of central Manchester’s busiest roads after torrential rain. The 12-metre crater appeared on Mancunian Way between the junctions with the A6 London Road and Fairfield Street, halting traffic in both directions. | Sinkholes are created when the surface layer of the ground collapses. In August, a sinkhole opened up on one of central Manchester’s busiest roads after torrential rain. The 12-metre crater appeared on Mancunian Way between the junctions with the A6 London Road and Fairfield Street, halting traffic in both directions. |
| picture of a sinkhole @HFRS attended in St Albans today, @HCCResilience working with partners to aid residents pic.twitter.com/NLA5oJwNFz | picture of a sinkhole @HFRS attended in St Albans today, @HCCResilience working with partners to aid residents pic.twitter.com/NLA5oJwNFz |
| Earlier in the year, Traigh golf course, near Mallaig on Scotland’s west coast, was left with £16,000 of damage after a hole damaged part of the fairway. In February, in Ripon, North Yorkshire, a house was left close to collapse after a hole was found underneath the structure. | Earlier in the year, Traigh golf course, near Mallaig on Scotland’s west coast, was left with £16,000 of damage after a hole damaged part of the fairway. In February, in Ripon, North Yorkshire, a house was left close to collapse after a hole was found underneath the structure. |
| Last month, a sinkhole estimated to be 200 metres long, 50 metres wide and nine metres deep at its deepest point, appeared at Inskip Point, near Fraser Island in Queensland, Australia, in one of the more dramatic examples of how sinkholes can appear with little warning. | Last month, a sinkhole estimated to be 200 metres long, 50 metres wide and nine metres deep at its deepest point, appeared at Inskip Point, near Fraser Island in Queensland, Australia, in one of the more dramatic examples of how sinkholes can appear with little warning. |
| Simon Redfern, a professor of mineral physics at the University of Cambridge, said St Albans sits on soft rocks formed from the fossilised shell remains of marine creatures living in a sea that covered south-east England millions of years ago. | Simon Redfern, a professor of mineral physics at the University of Cambridge, said St Albans sits on soft rocks formed from the fossilised shell remains of marine creatures living in a sea that covered south-east England millions of years ago. |
| Such rocks can develop subterranean channels and chambers, in just the same way as the limestone caves of the Peak District and elsewhere, and are relatively easily dissolved by water. | Such rocks can develop subterranean channels and chambers, in just the same way as the limestone caves of the Peak District and elsewhere, and are relatively easily dissolved by water. |
| Redfern said: “It seems likely that today’s sinkhole in St Albans has formed from just this sort of process. It demonstrates that the firm rocky foundations that we expect to rely upon may not always be so steadfast, and that dynamic processes at and near the Earth’s surface are constantly reshaping our planet.” | Redfern said: “It seems likely that today’s sinkhole in St Albans has formed from just this sort of process. It demonstrates that the firm rocky foundations that we expect to rely upon may not always be so steadfast, and that dynamic processes at and near the Earth’s surface are constantly reshaping our planet.” |
| What causes sinkholes? | What causes sinkholes? |
| Natural sinkholes occur when water, from rain or underwater streams, seeps through soil and sediment to soluble rock such as limestone, salt or gypsum, and components of some sandstones. The water gradually dissolves the rock, to the point where it cannot support its own weight or anything placed on top of it, and it gives way. | |
| The resulting depressions characterise what is known as a karst landscape, in which hundreds or even thousands of relatively small sinkholes form across an area that, seen from the air, can appear almost pockmarked. | The resulting depressions characterise what is known as a karst landscape, in which hundreds or even thousands of relatively small sinkholes form across an area that, seen from the air, can appear almost pockmarked. |
| About 10% of the world’s surface is made up of karst topographies. The entire state of Florida is classed as karst landscape and its department of environmental protection website has a section on how to fill sinkholes. | About 10% of the world’s surface is made up of karst topographies. The entire state of Florida is classed as karst landscape and its department of environmental protection website has a section on how to fill sinkholes. |
| In Britain, the carboniferous limestone of the Mendip Hills, the north of the South Wales coalfield, the Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales, the northern Pennines and the edges of the Lake District all host well developed karst landscapes. | In Britain, the carboniferous limestone of the Mendip Hills, the north of the South Wales coalfield, the Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales, the northern Pennines and the edges of the Lake District all host well developed karst landscapes. |
| Karstic features are also common in the UK on the chalk of south-east England, on salt in the centre and north-east of the country, and particularly on the gypsum that underlies parts of eastern and north-eastern England, especially around Ripon and Darlington, and in the Vale of Eden. | Karstic features are also common in the UK on the chalk of south-east England, on salt in the centre and north-east of the country, and particularly on the gypsum that underlies parts of eastern and north-eastern England, especially around Ripon and Darlington, and in the Vale of Eden. |
| • This article was amended on 7 October 2015 because an earlier version said that sandstone dissolves in water. This has been corrected to say that components of some sandstones are soluble. |