Buzz
The ground is reassuring simply because it's always there. Amid the various fears and uncertainties that life throws at us, one thing we can always rely on is the earth beneath us staying exactly as it was the day before. So, when you glance out your window one morning and find a massive hole where your yard—or neighbors—once stood, it’s bound to be a bit shocking. This is the reality faced by these individuals.
10. Waterloo, Illinois
On March 8, 2013, Mark Mihal was enjoying a leisurely round of golf with friends when, without warning, a sinkhole opened up right beneath him, dropping him 18 feet into a muddy pit. Shocked, his friends rushed to the clubhouse to inform the manager. Upon their return, Ed Magaletta, one of Mark's golfing companions, quickly tied a rope around his waist and descended into the sinkhole to conduct a swift rescue.
The sinkhole at the golf course had a bell-shaped structure, with a narrow opening at the surface that expanded to about 10 feet in diameter at its deepest point. A local geologist who investigated the situation explained that the sinkhole was formed by the gradual erosion of limestone due to groundwater. As Mark’s experience proves, one moment you're standing on what seems like solid ground, and the next, you’re not. This incident took place at the Annbriar Golf Course in Waterloo, Illinois.
9. Ottawa, Canada
In early September 2012, Juan Unger was heading home from work when, without warning, the road beneath him suddenly gave way. With no time to stop and nowhere to swerve without colliding with other cars, he had no choice but to drive straight into the collapsing road.
The sinkhole was triggered by a burst sewer line beneath the Canadian highway, which created a void under the pavement that eventually collapsed. Although the hole started out small—just big enough to swallow Unger’s car—it rapidly expanded across the road until it became as large as an Olympic swimming pool.
8. Guatemala City, Guatemala
One of the most notorious sinkholes of the last decade occurred in Guatemala City in 2010. On May 30, an entire intersection in the heart of the city simply crumbled, leaving behind a nearly perfect circular hole that was 300 feet deep and 60 feet wide, swallowing one of the buildings along with it.
While geologists remain uncertain about the exact cause of the Guatemala sinkhole, they believe it was either a natural occurrence—water eroding the limestone below the surface over time, creating a hollow cavern—or a burst sewage line, which causes a similar effect but at a faster rate. This was the second major sinkhole to strike Guatemala City within three years, the first having taken place in 2007.
7. Picher, Oklahoma
Picher, Oklahoma is like a ticking time bomb of sinkholes. In fact, it's more like a whole series of sinkholes slowly emerging. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, this small town has become the most toxic place in the U.S. As expected, it’s now deserted, with a reported population of just 20 (as per Wikipedia).
The city’s extensive mining activities have led to numerous sinkholes opening up overnight, as abandoned mining shafts give way. Even more alarming, some of these sinkholes don't just disappear—they come back with a vengeance. Underground water, contaminated with acids and heavy metals from the mining waste, often rises to the surface, turning the sinkholes into deadly toxic lakes.
6. Seffner, Florida
On February 28, 2013, a sinkhole appeared in the most unexpected place—right in the middle of Jeff Bush's bedroom. Hearing a loud crash followed by a shout, Jeff’s brother Jeremy rushed to the room and found a 20-foot-wide hole in the floor with no sign of Jeff. A television hung precariously over the edge of the sinkhole, suspended by its power cord, and part of a bed was still visible a few feet below.
Jeremy Bush stated that he jumped into the hole to try to rescue his brother, but had to be pulled out by emergency responders. As of now, Jeff Bush has not been found and is presumed dead. The Bush family lives near Tampa, Florida, an area notorious for sinkholes—over 500 have been documented in the region since 1954, and it is one of the few places in the country where sinkhole insurance is mandatory for homeowners.
5. Dover, Ohio
On November 29, 2012, another sinkhole appeared out of nowhere in Dover, Ohio, with a diameter larger than four football fields (400 yards). A section of highway and a pond disappeared along with the sinkhole, but the cause of the disaster is well known. For years, a local company has been dredging sand from the area, digging down over 50 feet to extract it. The combination of this activity and the naturally unstable sandy soil made a sinkhole almost inevitable.
4. Daisetta, Texas
On May 7, 2008, the town of Daisetta, Texas shrank by a sizable chunk. That morning, 600 feet of fields, forests, and residential land caved in, leaving behind a 150-foot-deep crater. Witnesses say the ground started to crack and tremble before a pit formed, quickly expanding to 20 feet across. It then continued to grow, swallowing everything in its path.
Daisetta is built on top of a salt dome—an enormous underground mass of salt that, like limestone, is highly vulnerable to water erosion. Over time, the dome erodes into a cave, and eventually, that cave collapses into a sinkhole. Now known as “Sinkhole de Mayo” by locals (though “Sudden Valley” also has its appeal), this sinkhole is expected to continue growing. If the entire salt dome collapses, it could drag the whole town down with it.
3. Bayou Corne, Louisiana
Sinkholes are already a serious threat, but when they begin releasing hazardous levels of radiation, it takes the danger to a whole new level. That’s exactly what happened on August 3, 2010, when a sinkhole formed in the forest near Bayou Corne, Louisiana.
The sinkhole, 422 feet deep, was triggered by the collapse of an underground salt dome. However, unlike the one in Daisetta, Texas, this particular sinkhole was caused not by natural erosion but by decades of mining activity carried out by the Texas Brine Co. Swallowing 100-foot-tall pine trees, the sinkhole became a serious hazard. To make matters worse, it was dangerously close to an underground storage site containing 63 million gallons of butane gas. Meanwhile, methane and natural gas were spewing from the ground so quickly that one local described it as resembling a “boiling crawfish pot.”
As if things weren’t bad enough, Bruce Martin, VP of Texas Brine, later admitted that they may have illegally stored radioactive materials in the area during the 1990s.
2. Changsha, China
In the early hours of June 7, 2012, a man was driving his van through Guilin City, China, when the road beneath him unexpectedly rose. A sinkhole opened up right under the van, dropping it into the shallow hole and tipping it onto its side. He was injured but made a full recovery.
Sinkholes are appearing all over the world, and recently, they've become more frequent in China. In one such incident, a sinkhole opened on a highway in Changsha, China, swallowing a BMW with three passengers inside. One of the passengers was killed. This pit, at least 30 meters wide, was so deep that the bottom was invisible to the naked eye.
1. Schmalkalden, Germany
On November 1, 2010, Wolfgang Peter was awakened at 3 AM by what he thought was the sound of dump trucks unloading gravel near his house. It turned out, however, that the noise was the result of half of his garage sinking 65 feet into the earth below.
The sinkhole, which appeared in Schmalkalden, Germany, formed in the middle of a residential area. Fortunately, no lives were lost, although one car was swallowed by the 130-foot wide pit. Authorities quickly confirmed that the cause of the collapse was natural, not the result of mining activity.
