2024-04-10 00:38:24
Canberra: Suddenly a hole appeared in a football field filled with water in Sydney, Australia, into which a 13-year-old boy started falling. When the boy tried to push the soil down with his feet to get out of the pit, he started going further down the pit. Later a police officer grabbed his wrists and pulled him out. After this incident, sinkholes are again in the news. This is not the first time. Earlier last March, two sinkholes had opened in the Sydney suburb of Rockdale, one of which was reportedly in danger of collapsing a commercial building. Last year, another large sinkhole opened in the South Australian city of Mount Gambier. So let us know what sinkholes are and why they occur?
suddenly a hole opens in the ground
A sinkhole is basically a hole that appears to open suddenly in the ground. However, the process of sinkhole formation is not so sudden and may have been developing over a long time. Sinkholes occur when an underground tunnel begins to expand. It expands over time, but the soil at the surface is strong enough to stick together and form a “roof” over the cavity. This roof must be there, because if it is not there then a hole will be visible on the ground. At some point the ceiling over the cave becomes too thin or too weak and it collapses under the weight. Same thing happened in the case of Sydney when it started collapsing due to the weight of a boy.
When the roof collapses, a hole is created inside, exposing a previously hidden cavity underground. If the underground cavity is deep enough and surrounded by strong enough rocks it can expand and may never collapse. Later it can build tunnels and cave systems. In some cases these caves may connect to localized sinkholes on the surface.
Why are these caves formed inside the ground?
Acidic rainwater can corrode underground rock. This can lead to the formation of underground caves that can eventually turn into sinkholes. It is common in the Middle East and America. In Australia, raised sinkholes commonly appear due to underground erosion. Here the flowing water carries the soil out of the area. The greater the opening of the ground, the more water gets inside it and the greater the possibility of sinkholes. The rate of water flow can increase over time, creating a snowball effect that increases the risk of earthen roof collapse.
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Human factors may play a role in the formation of these sinkholes. For example, leaks in underground water pipelines can cause groundwater erosion over time and increase the risk of sinkholes developing. Sinkholes are not uncommon but it is not really possible to say how many there are in Australia. The potholes you hear about are in cities, so they attract attention. These can be a threat to buildings, but you can’t predict them. These can happen everywhere.