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The Great Collapse: crust weakening, slipping, and collapsing across the planet

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March 27, 2024, 12:55:24 pm Mark says: Shocked Shocked Shocked Shocked  When Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida began a speech marking the 100th day of the war in Gaza, one confounding yet eye-opening proclamation escaped the headlines. Listing the motives for the Palestinian militant group's Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, he accused Jews of "bringing red cows" to the Holy Land.
December 31, 2022, 10:08:58 am NilsFor1611 says: blessings
August 08, 2018, 02:38:10 am suzytr says: Hello, any good churches in the Sacto, CA area, also looking in Reno NV, thanks in advance and God Bless you Smiley
January 29, 2018, 01:21:57 am Christian40 says: It will be interesting to see what happens this year Israel being 70 years as a modern nation may 14 2018
October 17, 2017, 01:25:20 am Christian40 says: It is good to type Mark is here again!  Smiley
October 16, 2017, 03:28:18 am Christian40 says: anyone else thinking that time is accelerating now? it seems im doing days in shorter time now is time being affected in some way?
September 24, 2017, 10:45:16 pm Psalm 51:17 says: The specific rule pertaining to the national anthem is found on pages A62-63 of the league rulebook. It states: “The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game, and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem. “During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition. It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.”
September 20, 2017, 04:32:32 am Christian40 says: "The most popular Hepatitis B vaccine is nothing short of a witch’s brew including aluminum, formaldehyde, yeast, amino acids, and soy. Aluminum is a known neurotoxin that destroys cellular metabolism and function. Hundreds of studies link to the ravaging effects of aluminum. The other proteins and formaldehyde serve to activate the immune system and open up the blood-brain barrier. This is NOT a good thing."
http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-08-11-new-fda-approved-hepatitis-b-vaccine-found-to-increase-heart-attack-risk-by-700.html
September 19, 2017, 03:59:21 am Christian40 says: bbc international did a video about there street preaching they are good witnesses
September 14, 2017, 08:06:04 am Psalm 51:17 says: bro Mark Hunter on YT has some good, edifying stuff too.
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Author Topic: The Great Collapse: crust weakening, slipping, and collapsing across the planet  (Read 29411 times)
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« Reply #30 on: March 03, 2013, 04:07:55 pm »

http://news.yahoo.com/most-fla-house-over-sinkhole-demolished-174558497.html

3/3/13
Most of Fla. house over sinkhole demolished

SEFFNER, Fla. (AP) — Crews on Sunday razed more than half of the Tampa-area home perched over a huge sinkhole that swallowed a man three days ago, managing to salvage some keepsakes for family members who lived there.
 
Jeremy Bush, 35, tried to save his brother, Jeff, when the earth opened up and swallowed him Thursday night. On Sunday morning, Bush and relatives prayed with a pastor as the home — where he lived with his girlfriend, Rachel Wicker; their daughter, Hannah, 2; and others — was demolished and waited for firefighters to salvage anything possible from inside.
 
Early Sunday morning, just before the demolition began, Bush and an unidentified woman knelt and prayed at the mailbox in front of the home, owned by Leland Wicker, Rachel's grandfather, since the 1970s.
 
After praying, Bush and the woman walked across the street to a neighbor's lawn to watch the demolition.
 
The operator of the heavy equipment worked gingerly, first taking off a front wall. Family belongings were scooped onto the lawn gently in hopes of salvaging parts of the family's 40-year history in the home.
 
As of Sunday afternoon — when demolition had stopped for the day and only a few walls of the home remained — a Bible, family photos, a jewelry box and a pink teddy bear for Hannah were among the items saved. Firefighters also were able to pick out the purse of one of the women in the home.
 
Cheers went up from family, friends and neighbors each time something valuable was salvaged.
 
Wanda Carter, the daughter of Leland Wicker, cradled the large family Bible in her arms. She said her mother and father had stored baptism certificates, cards and photos between the pages of that Bible over the years.
 
"It means that God is still in control, and He knew we needed this for closure," she said, crying.
 
Carter said she spent from age 11 to 20 in the home, and she had to close her eyes as the home was knocked down.
 
"Thank you for all of the memories and life it gave us," she said.
 
The Rev. John Martin Bell of Shoals Baptist Church said he had been with the family all morning. "We just prayed with them," he said. He added that all five who lived in the house — Bush, Wicker, Hannah and two others ages 50 and 45 — were in need of support and prayers from the community.
 
Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill said the remaining walls of the home would be knocked down Monday and then crews would turn to clearing the debris as much as possible to allow officials and engineers to see the sinkhole in the open. Officials also will determine what will happen to the two homes on either side of the now-demolished house; experts say the sinkhole has "compromised" those homes, but it's unclear whether steps can be taken to save them.
 
Several generations of family members lived in the home at the time of the ground collapse, including Jeff Bush, the man now presumed dead.
 
Jeremy Bush tried to save his brother by jumping into the sinking dirt hole. He had to be pulled out of the still-shifting hole by a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Deputy, who was visibly shaken when talking about the incident more than a day later.
 
"I've never seen anything move so fast and do so much destruction," Deputy Douglas Duvall said.
 
The search for Jeff Bush, 37, was called off Saturday. He was in his bedroom Thursday night in Seffner — a suburb of 8,000 people 15 miles east of downtown Tampa — when the ground opened and took him and everything else in his room. Five others in the house at the time escape unharmed as the earth crumbled.
 
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is conducting the investigation. Detective Larry McKinnon said the sheriff's office and the county medical examiner cannot declare Bush dead if his body is still missing. Under Florida law, Bush's family must petition a court to declare him deceased.
 
"Based on the circumstances, he's presumed dead; however the official death certificate can only be issued by a judge and the family has to petition the court," McKinnon said.
 
The area around Seffner is known for sinkholes due to the geography of the terrain, but they are rarely deadly. No one — from longtime public safety officials to geologists — could remember an incident where a person was sucked into the earth without warning.
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« Reply #31 on: March 04, 2013, 03:37:31 am »

Why Are Giant Sinkholes Appearing All Over America? Is Something Happening To The Earth’s Crust?

Where are all of these giant sinkholes coming from?  Of course there have always been sinkholes, but over the past few years it seems like both the severity and the number of giant sinkholes has been increasing dramatically.  So exactly why are so many giant sinkholes appearing all over America all of a sudden?  Is something happening to the earth’s crust, or is there some other explanation?  The “experts” are blaming this epidemic of sinkholes on things like loose soil, acidic groundwater, new construction, leaky water pipes, coal mines, fracking, long periods of drought followed by rain, and depletion of underground aquifers, but do they really understand what is going on?  On Thursday, a 37-year-old man named Jeffrey Bush living near Tampa, Florida died when the earth underneath his home suddenly opened up and swallowed him alive.  His brother tried to help him when he heard Jeffrey screaming, but it was too late.  The entire bedroom was sucked deep into the earth and the home had to be rapidly abandoned.  Now authorities are admitting that he will probably never be found.  So is this type of thing really “normal”?  It would be one thing if this was just an isolated incident, but the truth is that giant sinkholes have been appearing with increasing frequency all over the planet lately. Could this be an indication that major earth changes are on the way?

Florida has always been an area that has been prone to sinkholes, but the numbers do show that sinkhole damage in the state has increased very rapidly in recent years.  According to ABC News, insurance claims related to sinkholes more than doubled between 2006 and 2009…

    Hillsborough County, where Seffner is situated, is part of an area in Florida prone to sinkholes, with insurance claims associated with them more than doubling between 2006 and 2009, according to a Florida Senate report.

But that is just Florida, right?

Other parts of the country are not having this kind of a problem, right?

Wrong.

Just check out what has been happening in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania lately.  There are dozens of sinkholes that have opened up in Harrisburg, and the city is so broke that it doesn’t have the money to fix all of them.

In fact, at this point there are 41 sinkholes that have been documented in Harrisburg, and many of them are right in the middle of the street…

    Pennsylvania’s state capital is suffering from a rash of monster sinkholes, but city officials are too broke to do anything about it.

    Loose soil and leaky, century-old underground water pipes are to blame for the municipal nightmare, which came to a head on the New Year’s Eve when a 50-foot sinkhole yawned open along Fourth Street, the Wall Street Journal reported.

    The eight-foot deep crater — one of at least 41 in the city — is so large, locals made it a “check-in” site on the social media site Four Square.

    Some cheeky residents and the media nicknamed the hole “Super Sinkhole Walter.”

Of course there have been lots of cities throughout U.S. history that have experienced such an epidemic of sinkholes, right?

There is no reason to be alarmed, right?

In a previous article about sinkholes, I talked about a sinkhole that recently formed in Ohio that was the size of four football fields and that was more than 30 feet deep.  It caused part of State Route 516 to collapse and authorities were projecting that the road would continue to stay closed for months to come.

But that is “normal”, right?

The giant Louisiana sinkhole in Assumption Parish that made headlines all over the nation last year is now more than 800 feet in diameter.  It just continues to grow, and authorities have no idea when it will stop growing.

But this kind of thing happens all the time, right?

Just recently, large sinkholes forced roads to close in New Jersey and in Arizona.  Of course those incidents will soon be forgotten because there are more news stories about major sinkholes in the United States almost every single day now.  Giant sinkholes have been happening with such regularity that people hardly take notice anymore.

You can see some photos of some of the craziest sinkholes in recent years right here.  It would be one thing if giant sinkholes were just appearing in the United States, but unfortunately that is not the case.

For instance, a sinkhole that appeared in the middle of Guatemala City in 2010 was about 30 stories deep.

Down in Sarisarinama, Venezuela some sinkholes have appeared in recent years that are more than 1,000 feet wide.

China has been one of the worst areas of the world for sinkholes over the past several years.  In fact, just check out what has been happening in one village in China recently…

    Residents in the village of Lianyuan in southern China’s Hunan Province have been treading rather gingerly these last few months. Over 20 sinkholes have opened up in the ground since last September. The cave-ins, which range in size, have seen houses collapse and rivers run dry. And there is never any warning as to where and when the sinkholes occur. According to local authorities, the main reason for the cave-ins is the number of coalmines in the area. It is not clear what steps are being taken to prevent further sinkholes from appearing.

I could go on and on with more examples from all over the globe, but hopefully you are starting to get the point.

Giant holes are opening up all over the earth and swallowing homes, buildings, roads and sometimes even people.

So why is this happening?

Is the crust of the earth becoming more unstable?

Or is something else at work?

Please feel free to post a comment with your opinion below…

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/why-are-giant-sinkholes-appearing-all-over-america-is-something-happening-to-the-earths-crust
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« Reply #32 on: March 04, 2013, 03:38:33 am »

The Most Terrifying Sinkhole Pictures You've Ever Seen

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/giant-sinkhole-photos-2013-3?op=1#ixzz2MYvT66W9
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« Reply #33 on: March 04, 2013, 10:07:37 am »

The Most Terrifying Sinkhole Pictures You've Ever Seen

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/giant-sinkhole-photos-2013-3?op=1#ixzz2MYvT66W9


Yes, they are truely terrifying - come to think of it, I remember watching alot of this in 1990's movies(when I was an avid movie buff). Back then, thought it was nothing more than "check your brain out the door" mindless stuff...truth can be stranger than fiction...
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« Reply #34 on: March 05, 2013, 04:02:18 am »

Report: 2nd possible sinkhole opens up in Seffner
Authorities investigate hole 2 miles from where man was swallowed by sinkhole


Authorities are investigating another possible sinkhole in a neighborhood in Seffner, just two miles from where a sinkhole swallowed up a man in his bedroom last week , according to WTSP-TV.

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and code enforcement are at a home on Cedar Tree Lane to determine if it is safe for the family to stay in the house, WTSP reports. The sinkhole is reportedly estimated to be about 10 feet across, straddling across a fence and affecting at least two properties.

WTSP reports there appears to be no structural damage to the houses.

The second possible sinkhole comes the same day workers demolished the blue, one-story home to try to salvage belongings for the family of the victim, Jeff Bush. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house, and rescuers said there were no signs of life since the hole opened Thursday.

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/Report-2nd-possible-sinkhole-opens-up-in-Seffner/-/1637132/19175340/-/lpw1q3/-/index.html
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« Reply #35 on: March 05, 2013, 10:21:08 pm »

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/five-facts-sinkholes-214013987.html

Five facts about sinkholes

3/5/13
A gaping, 50-foot sinkhole that took the life of a Florida man, Jeff Bush, whose bedroom was swallowed up, made for scary headlines worldwide. But sinkholes, it turns out, are not as rare you would think. The phenomena, for instance, are common in Florida, if only occasionally deadly. Here, with help from sources including the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Geological Survey, sinkholes explained:

How does a sinkhole form? "Cover-collapse" sinkholes occur when groundwater causes underground gaps that grow so big the ground above can’t support them. These can be dramatic events, since the holes can grow big enough to swallow a house, a road, a field or a swimming pool, even as those above ground go about their lives completely oblivious to the growing danger.
 
Are there other types of sinkholes? There are two other kinds: "solution" and "subsidence" sinkholes, which don't make the nightly news. That's because the changes to the topography happen slowly over time without catastrophic results.
 
Which states have sinkholes? The entire state of Florida is prone to sinkholes since it sits on top of a layer of limestone rock known as karst, which can be dissolved by acidic groundwater, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
 
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), other vulnerable states include Texas, Kentucky, Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.
 
Are sinkholes common? Unlike hurricanes or earthquakes, sinkholes aren’t tracked. But CNN reports that from 2006 to 2010 in Florida alone, there were 24,671 insurance claims for sinkhole damage, totaling a whopping $1.4 billion.
 
Can humans cause sinkholes? Yes. According to an interview with Randall Orndorff a U.S. Geological Survey supervisory geologist, human activities like drilling for a well or mining, which lower water levels underground, can cause sinkholes. So can putting up buildings and parking lots, he added, which changes where water drains. “Instead of the water naturally soaking into the ground, it's now running off and being concentrated—being put into the ground at one point," he said.
 
The massive sinkhole in Guatemala that was created in June 2010 is an example of one that was probably caused by human activity.
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« Reply #36 on: March 06, 2013, 08:37:00 am »

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/05/17199807-when-the-earth-opens-up-why-its-sinkhole-season-in-florida?lite=

3/5/13
When the earth opens up: Why it's 'sinkhole season' in Florida

SEFFNER, Fla. - As crews entombed a man who was swallowed by a sinkhole near Tampa, the earth opened up again just a few miles away. On Tuesday, in a neighboring county, officials investigated reports of a home cracking, perhaps due to another sinkhole.

Across Florida this time of year, it's the start of what's unofficially considered the "sinkhole season," State Geologist Jonathan Arthur said. It coincides with the beginning of the state's rainy season and usually lasts until the end of summer.

"Florida is famous for bugs, alligators, pythons, hurricanes and now sinkholes," said Larry McKinnon, a Hillsborough sheriff's office spokesman. "I think our salvation is that for most of the time, our weather is picture-perfect."

But it's also the weather - along with man-made factors - that exacerbate sinkholes, experts said.

Arthur said February is usually when the state is at its driest, but it's also the start of the rainy season. Acidic rain can, over time, eat away the limestone and natural caverns that lie under much of the state, causing sinkholes. Both extremely dry weather and very wet weather can trigger sinkholes, he said.

"An extensive drought can cause soil and sediment over a cavity to be extremely dry and collapse," said Arthur.

On the other hand, following Tropical Storm Debby in 2012, dozens of sinkholes formed in counties north of Tampa because of the rain.

In Hillsborough County, an area particularly susceptible to sinkholes, 37-year-old Jeff Bush was killed last week when a hole opened up underneath his bedroom. Engineering experts have said it is too dangerous to retrieve Bush's body, so they demolished the home and filled the hole with gravel.

Hillsborough County is in a moderate drought, but engineers and county officials don't know exactly why the sinkhole formed in Seffner, and said they will likely never know.

The county has had 1.56 inches of rainfall since Jan. 1; it usually averages about 5.41 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

In Pinellas County, about 30 miles away from Seffner, fire-rescue workers in the community of Palm Harbor said they asked two people to evacuate a home after the residents reported "extensive cracking on the interior and exterior of the home." A county building inspector said the home was safe to live in, but the homeowner was seeking an engineer's opinion.

Arthur said he looked at 50 years of data and found that there is usually an uptick of reported sinkholes in February, with an increase until about July, when activity tapers off. December and January have typically low sinkhole activity.

Florida tracks naturally-occurring sinkholes and other ground collapses following a busted water main, development and groundwater pumping for crops.

In 2010, strawberry farmers in eastern Hillsborough County pumped water from the aquifer onto their crops during cold weather so that the water would freeze on the crops, creating a layer of ice that protects the berries.

So much water was pumped that more than 65 sinkholes opened in the area and wells went dry
.

"When they take water out of the ground it's like taking air out of a balloon," said Bill Fernandez, a Florida sinkhole repair expert. "When you suck water out of the ground, you change the hydrostatic pressure underground and that's what can cause sinkholes."

Arthur added that moving a lot of dirt around for development can also trigger sinkholes. On Sunday in Largo, a failure in a pipe in a mall's stormwater control system under the parking lot caused the ground to collapse.

"There are a lot of variables," said Arthur. "Sinkholes are naturally occurring. Regardless of human activity they would occur."

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« Reply #37 on: March 12, 2013, 11:57:06 am »

Sinkhole explosive methane officially life threatening, residents not told

Officials advised the Assumption Parish President on Thursday that Bayou Corne sinkhole area has high levels of methane in nearby water wells, posing risks to health, fire and explosion and that residents need to heed the mandatory evacuation order. That day, parish officials postponed Saturday’s resident briefing with no explanation.
 
“Of the chemicals reviewed, only methane, detected in the industrial water wells, presents a potential health risk (Type 2 of fire/explosion),” Dr. Raoult Ratard, State Epidemiologist of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Office (DHH) of Public Health stated in an environmental data report of the Bayou Corne oil and gas sinkhole event sent to Assumption Parish President Martin S. Triche Thursday.
 
That morning, at 9:00 a.m., parish officials stated in a blog post developed to keep residents informed about the sinkhole incident, “*NOTE* The resident briefing scheduled for Saturday morning has been rescheduled for Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at the Command Post at 6:00 p.m.
 
Methane, the mysterious ‘powerful underground force’ reported by officials?
 
Speculations are increasing that methane is the mysterious “powerful underground force” wreaking havoc in south Louisiana, including the sinkhole disaster area.
 
Methane gas leaks are spreading throughout the south Louisiana area. Within four months, as of this week, methane bubbling sites have increased to twenty-eight, including in Pierre Part, outside the mandatory evacuation area but within hearing distance and jolts of seismic activities where foul chemical odors are nauseating and burning, as some residents there have reported.
 
When power flickered out a brief spell Friday night, one Pierre Part resident Alicia Heilig, 27, was too frightened to sleep.
 
Heilig lives near one of the latest detected bubbling sites, #16 on the parish map, and has struggled with her two children and mother being sick since the sinkhole gas incident and the smell of strong chemicals there began.
 
“I took a drive down to the sinkhole area to make sure it wasn’t anything to do with that,” Heilig told reporter Deborah Dupré in an email.
 
That whole area is hazy,” Heilig wrote. “Almost like fog, but its not foggy anywhere else.”
 
A power truck was parked at the sinkhole area gas station, according to Heilig.

“Don’t know what’s up, but glad my kids aren’t home tonight,” she reported, further indicating the ongoing human rights to health and security violation.
 
Ratard stated in the Oct. 3 letter that high levels of methane have been detected in water wells in the sinkhole area, according to DHH that reviewed 11 samples and readings.
 
“With levels as high as 22,400, 26,600 and 27, 700 ug/L, it would appear immediate remediation is warranted,” DHH advises
.

 
more(plus a bunch of videos in the link)
http://tatoott1009.com/2012/10/07/sinkhole-explosive-methane-officially-life-threatening-residents-not-told/
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« Reply #38 on: March 12, 2013, 12:48:04 pm »

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/golf-devil-ball-golf/illinois-golfer-falls-sinkhole-middle-fairway-152444582--golf.html
3/12/13
Golfer falls into a sinkhole in the middle of an Illinois fairway

You know what's fun? Hitting your drive in the middle of the fairway. You know what isn't fun? Getting penalized for it. Most of the time that means your ball finds a divot, but one Illinois golfer found plenty more trouble out in the middle of a Waterloo, Ill. golf course fairway.
 
Mark Mihal, from Creve Coeur, Mo., was playing Annbriar Golf Course, a place he frequents, when ground gave way to the 43-year-old, dropping him 18 feet into the middle of a dirt abyss.
 

“I was standing in the middle of the fairway,” Mihal told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Monday. “Then, all of a sudden, before I knew it, I was underground.”

 
Immediately Mihal said he thought back to a story of a man that was sleeping when ground gave way and he was never recovered, but after 20 minutes, some rope and help from the course's general manager, he was pulled from the sinkhole and back on solid ground.
 
The story is just as crazy as it sounds. It was the first time something like this has ever happened at Annbriar Golf Course, a course that Mihal said he plays a lot because it's always in good shape, but it seems he might be avoiding it in the future. Mihal said after the incident that it might be too strange for him to return to the course because of what happened on No. 14, but come on, you're a golfer, we all have horror stories from golf courses! The difference is, most of our bad times end with the word "bogey," not "bon voyage."
 
I know that golfers normally get a rain check if the round gets washed away, but what's the appropriate response for a man that nearly disappeared in the turf of your track? Free golf for life? His own putting green in his back yard? A miner's helmet?
 
Lucky for everyone involved, Mihal suffered just a few bruises and a dislocated shoulder.
 
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« Reply #39 on: March 12, 2013, 09:26:49 pm »

Pro_14:9  Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.

http://news.yahoo.com/sinkhole-opens-washington-jaded-humor-emerges-233107269.html
3/12/13
Sinkhole opens up in Washington and jaded humor emerges

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington is used to being the brunt of jokes, particularly those centered around the action, or lack of it, on Capitol Hill.
 
But on Tuesday, the focus moved to the Adams Morgan neighborhood, where some saw a symbol of Washington - a gaping sinkhole in the middle of a bustling sidewalk.
 
Unlike the fatal sinkhole that swallowed a man as he slept in his Seffner, Florida, home on February 28, or the one a golfer fell into on an Illinois fairway earlier this month, the Washington sinkhole is more on the order of a large pothole. Surrounded by yellow tape, it is about a yard (meter) square, as deep as 10 feetand sits a few miles from the White House, another frequent source of late-night television humor.
 
But the sinkhole quickly took on larger proportions as chatter erupted on social media.
 
"A sinkhole has opened in Washington D.C. Last to push their congressman in is a rotten egg," tweeted Bill O'Keefe.
 
"25 ft deep sinkhole in DC today and it's expanding. Seems like I got out at the right time. It was nice knowing you, Washington," tweeted T.C. Sottek.
 
Metropolitan Police were dispatched to the sinkhole site, and local residents said the problem might be due to a new sewer that had just been installed.
 
"If that is the case, it would be typical of this kind of sinkhole collapse," said Jim Kaufmann, a research physical scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey.
 
Sinkholes are not uncommon, Kaufman said, because about 20 percent of the United States sits atop what is known as karst terrain, regions where rock below the surface can be naturally dissolved by groundwater. Hot areas for sinkholes are Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.
 
In a city like Washington, they can be traced to something as innocuous as a leaking pipe that erodes sediment below the surface, Kaufmann said by phone from Rolla, Missouri. They also are common after long dry spells followed by rainy periods.
 
Even Kaufmann initially saw the humor in Washington's encounter with the phenomenon.
 
"It's not on Capitol Hill, is it?," he asked.
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« Reply #40 on: March 13, 2013, 06:22:32 am »

La. ‘Sinkhole’ Warnings, Contingency Plan Enacted: Deadly Hydrogen Sulfide, 2nd Sinkhole, Increased Instability



Gov. Jindal warned Monday at a meeting in Baton Rouge with officials that deadly hydrogen sulfide could be released and another sinkhole could form if Texas Brine LLC’s second failing cavern collapses and he warned about increased instability in the Napoleonville Salt Dome, also collapsing.

A Contingency Plan has been enacted after learning that the company's second failing cavern is "less than" 200 feet from the salt dome outer wall.

The area will soon be a National Sacrifice Zone, whether or not the governor succeeds with his pressuring Texas Brine to buy out residents, as he said Monday that he is doing.

Second failing cavern less than 200 feet from collapsing salt dome edge, Contingency Plan now in Green Status

A Contingency Plan is now in place in the "sinkhole' disaster area after learning Texas Brine's second failing cavern is only 200 feet from the edge of the collapsing 1-mile by 3-mile Napoleonville Salt Dome.

"The proposed contingency plan is based upon three color levels (green, yellow, and red) of potential seismic activity associated with the Oxy-Geismar No. 1 and the related action level as described below," the Continency Plan text reads. "The response is currently in green status." (See the full Contingency Plan below)

http://beforeitsnews.com/gulf-oil-spill/2013/03/la-sinkhole-warning-contingency-plan-enacted-deadly-hydrogen-sulfide-2nd-sinkhole-increased-instability-2441090.html
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« Reply #41 on: March 13, 2013, 06:24:11 am »

Another Man Swallowed By A Sinkhole, This Time On A Golf Course In Illinois

http://www.businessinsider.com/illinois-golfer-swallowed-by-sinkhole-2013-3#ixzz2NLnxGKdz

He got a hole in one

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« Reply #42 on: March 13, 2013, 03:27:32 pm »

 Cheesy

Okay, so having played golf a little years ago, the rules on this get a little...sketchy!

So is that part of the course and the shot played where it lies, or is that considered an obstacle and he gets a free drop?

I think he's going to need a "hand wedge" to get it up and down!

Quote
Fact is, a golfer can declare any ball unplayable, at any time, for any reason, and anywhere on the course other than in a water hazard. The penalty is one stroke with three options for how to proceed.

In the rulebook, it's Rule 28, Ball Unplayable, and it's as straightforward as can be:

    "The player may declare his ball unplayable at any place on the course except when the ball is in a water hazard. The player is the sole judge as to whether his ball is unplayable."

After taking a 1-stroke penalty, the three options for proceeding are to return to the spot of the previous stroke and play again; or drop within two club lengths, not nearer the hole; or drop behind the spot, going back as far as you want, keeping the original spot between the hole and the new place where you drop.

If you declare a ball in a bunker unplayable and use the second or third option (taking a drop), you must drop in the bunker.

For a little more explanation, read Rule 28. It's every bit as clear as it sounds, even if that doesn't sound quite right.

http://golf.about.com/cs/rulesofgolf/a/rfaq_unplayable.htm

From the USGA, looks like he has to take a 1_stroke penalty, then choose the option to go back to his previous spot, or as far back as is playable... Grin

Quote
Rule 25
Abnormal Ground Conditions, Embedded Ball and Wrong Putting Green
 
Definitions

All defined terms are in italics and are listed alphabetically in the Definitions section.
25-1. Abnormal Ground Conditions
a. Interference

Interference by an abnormal ground condition occurs when a ball lies in or touches the condition or when the condition interferes with the player’s stance or the area of his intended swing. If the player’s ball lies on the putting green, interference also occurs if an abnormal ground condition on the putting green intervenes on his line of putt. Otherwise, intervention on the line of play is not, of itself, interference under this Rule.

Note: The Committee may make a Local Rule stating that interference by an abnormal ground condition with a player’s stance is deemed not to be, of itself, interference under this Rule.

http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules-of-Golf/Rule-25/
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« Reply #43 on: March 14, 2013, 10:55:52 am »

Officials: ‘Spasmodic burst’ near giant sinkhole — Around 100 micro quakes reported overnight
http://enenews.com/expert-spasmodic-burst-giant-sinkhole-increased-seismic-activity-reported
3/13/13
Dr. Horton has reported a “spasmodic burst” which occurred at 1:34 this morning with 90+ micro earthquakes happening overnight. In addition, there were several observable long periods (VLP) events recorded on seismic monitor LA12. Dr. Horton and Dr. Pettit are working to locate the events currently.

We will post updates as information becomes available.

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« Reply #44 on: March 19, 2013, 09:28:34 pm »

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« Reply #45 on: March 20, 2013, 07:49:20 pm »

3/20/13
Sinkhole Swallows Pond: How Do Sinkholes Occur? (VIDEO)

Residents have been left concerned after a sinkhole swallowed up a pond on Sunday stunning locals in Newcastle, California.
 
Local landowner, Mark Korb, has said he woke up on Sunday morning only to find the man-made pond on his land had completely disappeared, apparently it had drained away due to a massive sinkhole beneath the land.
 
The sinkhole managed to drain the entire pond just overnight, with Korb saying, "I would guess probably four to five hours for this whole area to drain."
 
The report comes just weeks after two massive sinkholes in Florida stunned the nation, with one of them swallowing up a man as he lay in his bedroom.
 
So what are sinkholes and how do they occur?
 
Sinkholes are basically depressions in the ground that form over time due to the combined forces of erosion and gravity. They have been known to reveal themselves gradually over time, although sometimes, like the cases in Florida, they can cause sudden collapses.

Scientists say that sinkholes are usually caused by the water that flows below the topsoil. The water turns acidic from absorbing carbon dioxide and participating in botanical processes; when it eventually flows down into the bedrock, it begins to erode the structural integrity of the stone formations below.
 
Sinkholes are also well know to be found in areas where the bedrock is made of a soft mineral, such as limestone or gypsum.
 
Generally speaking there are three main types of naturally caused sinkholes:
 
A Cover-collapse sinkhole
 This type of sinkhole occurs where the overburden is made of soft material, like clay. As caverns form in the bedrock below, pieces of the overburden tumble into the empty space, making the topsoil level weaker and weaker, until it eventually caves in.
 
A Cover-subsidence sinkhole
 This type of sinkhole is usually characterized by small dimensions, the abundant presence of water and a gradual collapse.
 
A Dissolution (or solution) sinkhole
 These don't exactly sink, but rather the overburden washes away, exposing the bedrock to erosion.
 
Here is a video of a 3D animation showing how sinkholes form:

Video clip inside link

One sinkhole in Florida recently gained international media coverage, after a man was sucked down into a hole that suddenly opened up under his bedroom.
 
The man's family members reported that they were all preparing for bed when they heard a loud crashing sound and then the man screaming as he was sucked down into the hole.
 
That sinkhole measured about 30 feet wide and 60 feet deep, and since it opened up it has become filled with clay and debris.
 
Officials have stated that despite a thorough search it is highly unlikely that the man's body will ever be recovered from the hole.
 
The home was bulldozed to the ground, and officials will now move to stabilize the sinkhole so it does not cause any further issues to the other residents in the area.
 
Already two other houses nearby the sinkhole home have been evacuated through fears that they too could collapse, as the foundations below the structures have been significantly weakened.
 
Here is a video news report into the new California sinkhole:

Video clip inside link

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/sinkhole-swallows-pond-how-do-sinkholes-occur-video-92275/#HR4Bm11YZbbLYvC5.99
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« Reply #46 on: March 21, 2013, 03:26:10 pm »

http://now.msn.com/sinkhole-in-louisiana-swallows-neighborhood
9-acre king of all sinkholes threatens to swallow a whole neighborhood
3/21/13

Sinkholes, bow before your unmerciful king. A collapsing salt mine has caused a nine-acre sinkhole in Louisiana, one that is threatening an entire neighborhood. Residents are being evacuated, and the company that owns the mine, Texas Brine, is paying them $875 a week for temporary housing costs. The Lord of the Sinkholes appeared Aug. 3 and is still growing. Scientists monitoring it say a second cavern may be collapsing. "They caused this damage, and certainly we'll be aggressive in making sure that they pay their bills," Gov. Bobby Jindal says of Texas Brine
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« Reply #47 on: March 21, 2013, 03:37:54 pm »

I don't know if that company can pay for all the damage. It's not a HUGE company, and what is taking place is HUGE expenses.

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southcentral/2013/03/14/284741.htm
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« Reply #48 on: March 23, 2013, 12:48:46 pm »

Posting this here is b/c this somewhat ties in with sinkholes being discussed in this thread(even though the article doesn't mention sinkholes).

IMHO, they tie in together b/c one of the reasons why sinkholes are growing over America is b/c this debt-laden country just doesn't have the money anymore to fix their infrastructures. Same is going for the infrastructures of US roads and bridges. Remember the big bridge collapse in Minnesota 7 years ago? That was due to lack of funding to maintain it.

http://money.msn.com/now/post.aspx?post=66445ffc-05ba-44fd-bb56-2b74b8936e19
US roads, bridges and other utilities get a D+ grade
3/22/13

Any parent knows that a D+ grade is rarely something to cheer about. But when the D+ is awarded to the overall state of America's national infrastructure, that's apparently good news.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' 2013 Report Card for America's Infrastructure showed slight progress over the D grade it gave the nation's bridges, roads, public utilities, water supplies and other essential systems during the last report in 2009.

This marks the first time the society, which began issuing its reports in 1998, has noted an improvement in national infrastructure. Until now, the grades have been near-failing and averaging a D -- due to what the Society calls "delayed maintenance and underinvestment."

The report looks across a wide spectrum of infrastructure issues. For 2013, it ranged from a high of B- for solid waste, to a low of D- for inland waterways and levees. Along with solid waste, drinking water, waste water, roads and bridges all saw slight improvements. And, just as important, no categories declined in grade compared to the last report.

In its executive summary, the report card says the improvements show what can be accomplished by sound investment in infrastructure. For example, it notes, greater private investment improved the connectivity and efficiency of rail transportation -- while new efforts on the city and state level addressed urgent work needed for some vulnerable bridges. Several areas of infrastructure also benefited from short-term increases in federal funding.

Gregory DiLoreto, the society's president, says Americans need to be proactive in taking care of national infrastructure – not only as a legacy, but to help keep the economy on a sound footing.“The reason why we want to make improvements to our infrastructure is not just simply to improve the grade,” he said on the society's website.

“Investment in our infrastructure will help grow our economy; it will create jobs and improve our quality of life,” he added. “It means being able to get to work easier without sitting in traffic all day long; and continuing to enjoy safe, clean and reliable drinking water anywhere in the country; and having an electrical transmission grid with fewer or no blackouts.”

The report card concludes that, if we are to raise our national infrastructure grades to acceptable levels across all 16 sectors touched on in the report, $3.6 trillion in total investment is needed by 2020. At the moment, total infrastructure spending in the U.S. is projected at around $2 trillion.

More on moneyNOW
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« Reply #49 on: March 24, 2013, 05:40:43 am »

Unexplained huge crack forming on the Navajo Nation

Luepp, Arizona - It's not something you see every day on the Navajo Nation, but a crack in the earth has been forming for a long time now and no one seems to have a clear answer. It just sits east of Flagstaff on Luepp Rd and about one mile west of Leupp gas station.

It's gotten so big that they had to fenced it in.



According to the U.S. geological survey, they say earthquakes come and go in the northern parts of Arizona, which also covers the reservation, it's not big enough to rattle down buildings but with the recent collapse of highway 89 near Page, some local residences wonder what mother nature has in mind for the vast reservation.

On March 18, we reached out to the Navajo Nation land and geology department, they did not have a particular person to give us an answer, so no one was readily available to explain what that huge gash was in the earth.

http://www.sott.net/article/260118-Unexplained-huge-crack-forming-on-the-Navajo-Nation
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« Reply #50 on: March 24, 2013, 05:58:51 am »

Cracks in the ground like that are apparently rather common in Arizona.
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« Reply #51 on: March 24, 2013, 03:29:48 pm »

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/24/17441852-new-sinkhole-in-same-fla-town-where-man-was-killed?lite=
3/24/13
New sinkhole in same Fla. town where man was killed

Just weeks after a sinkhole swallowed a Florida man, killing him in his sleep in his Seffner home, another sinkhole has opened between two houses in the same town.

The latest sinkhole appeared in the 1400 block of Lake Shore Ranch Drive around 7 p.m. Saturday. It's estimated to be about 8 feet in diameter and 10 feet deep, according to WFLA.

Both homes on either side of the hole were evacuated as a precaution.

Seffner is the town where 37-year-old Jeff Bush was swallowed by a sinkhole that completely demolished his bedroom three weeks ago. Five others who were in the house escaped unharmed.

That sinkhole was estimated to be 20 feet wide and 20 feet deep. The house was later demolished.
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« Reply #52 on: March 26, 2013, 04:28:22 pm »

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/officials-investigate-cause-behind-massive-earth-split-in-brazil/
3/26/13
Officials investigate cause behind massive earth-split in Brazil

March 26, 2013 – BRAZIL – The cause of massive land collapse in Brazil is being investigated. The prosecutor Douglas Roberto Ribeiro de Magalhaes Chegury is investigating the cause of environmental disasters in the cities of Santo Domingo and Campos Belos, Goias in the Northeast. Since yesterday (14/3), surveys are being carried out by the technical-skills expert prosecutors in places, where geological disasters, were generated by the collapse of land. This information will educate the public civil inquiries, which will proceed through the Prosecutor’s Office and Justice of São Domingos Campos Belos to liability for damages. According to Chegury, in early February, shortly after becoming aware of the environmental disaster in the Serra Geral, which divides the states of Goiás, Tocantins and Bahia; the civil investigation was initiated due to public outcry. The prosecutor has even visited the disaster site, and collected samples of water and land that could be contaminated with chemicals and pesticides. With the collapse, the flood of mud, stones and earth opened up a crater approximately 7 km, running almost 200 meters to the east of the Mosquito River, a major Northeastern Goiás and Tocantins Southeast. The prosecutor also informed the public that another investigation was initiated in Santo Domingo for determining liability for any environmental damage over the Serra Geral, similar to what happened in Upper Landing. On site, there was a landslide that hit the east of the São Vicente, which passes Terra Ronca State Park; the most extensive areas of environmental preservation of Goiás, with approximately 60 000 hectares, endangering fish species endangering the Sao Vicente cave complex.
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« Reply #53 on: March 26, 2013, 04:50:00 pm »

"7km" long? Looks like a fault rather than a "crater".
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« Reply #54 on: March 27, 2013, 08:47:39 pm »

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/27/17488774-massive-landslide-in-washington-state-damages-home-threatens-others?lite
3/27/13
Massive landslide in Washington state damages home, threatens others

Residents reportedly heard what sounded like thunder before a massive landslide on an island in Washington state, which damaged one home and threatened or isolated dozens more.

The slide occurred about 4:15 a.m. on the west side of Whidbey Island near the town of Coupeville, NBC station KING 5 reported. No one was injured.

Dramatic pictures showed one home off its foundation on a bluff. It had moved several hundred feet, Deputy Chief Chad Michael of Central Whidbey and Rescue told NBC News.

Other home owners lost large sections of their yards to the slide, and at least one house was now perched precariously with only a 10-foot strip of ground separating it from a large drop to the shoreline of Puget Sound, an inland sea dotted with numerous islands.

A road along the base of the bluff near the beach was closed and power and water were cut off to homes. The closure of the road isolated 17 houses, Michael said.

All told, 25 homes were effected by the slide.

Emergency workers were attempting to access parts of the damaged area through property owned by Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer, KING 5 reported.

The Red Cross has set up a relief center for residents who had to flee their homes. Evacuations continued through the morning.

It was unclear what triggered Wednesday's slide, but winter rains are known to saturate bluffs along Puget Sound's shoreline, putting pressure on high slopes and causing the earth to move.

The state warns people interested in buying shoreline property about the landslide hazards.

Coupeville is about 50 miles northwest of Seattle.
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« Reply #55 on: March 28, 2013, 10:38:50 pm »

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southcentral/2013/03/28/286395.htm
3/28/13
Louisiana Sinkhole Expands Again

About 25 trees fell into the Assumption Parish, La., sinkhole and officials say a new crack formed Monday night in a well pad south of the lake-like slurry hole.

The Advocate reports experts working for the state Office of Conservation believe the collapse and cracked well pad are linked to now-calmed seismic events from late last week.

Because of that connection, agency officials said the discovery did not halt work around the sinkhole and the area remains in emergency officials’ lowest “alert” status.

Parish officials also estimated that the edge collapse, or slough-in, probably bit off a quarter-acre from the formerly 13-acre sinkhole’s southeastern edge.

The sinkhole is located in swamps between the Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou communities and has required the continued evacuation of more than 350 people in those areas.

A failed Texas Brine Co. LLC cavern in the Napoleonville Dome is suspected of causing the sinkhole and related consequences. The cracked surface pad had been used for the original access well to the failed cavern, Oxy Geismar No. 3.

Early on Friday, experts detected an uptick in “very long period” tremors, a type of stretched-out seismic event, that have been linked to fluid and gas movement underground.

The tremors were detected under the sinkhole and around the failed Texas Brine cavern.

Past increases in tremors sometimes have preceded slough-ins and burps by the growing sinkhole.

The edge collapse happened roughly opposite from a nearly 1-acre slough-in on the western edge of the sinkhole that followed other tremors earlier this month.

That earlier slough-in, combined with other measurement changes, had boosted the sinkhole’s area to 13 acres.

The new crack is in an out-of-use ramp connecting the well pad to the sinkhole. The crack is parallel to the sinkhole’s southern edge.
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« Reply #56 on: March 28, 2013, 11:09:45 pm »

Landslide forces 300 to evacuate
3/27/13

SUBANG JAYA: ABOUT 300 residents of Pangsapuri Beringin  in Puchong, here had to vacate their apartment units yesterday when a nearby hillslope  collapsed for the second time this year.

The first incident occurred on Feb 19 and residents claimed that repairs were completed late, which resulted in the second landslide about 4.30pm yesterday.

They said an official from the Subang Jaya Municipal Council had directed residents of Block B of the apartments to evacuate to a hall nearby.

Resident Siti Zaleha Dalli, 38, described this landslide as even worse than the first one.

"I was told about the incident at about 4.30pm by my son before I noticed that a large part of the hill slope next to the building had collapsed. I was made to understand that a sewage pipe and a water pipe had burst, which aggravated the situation. The landslide was very near my unit," said Siti Zaleha, who expressed disappointment at the slow pace of repairs following the first landslide.

"When such things happen, we cannot sleep peacefully for fear that our lives may be in danger. If it rains, we will be more worried because the soil will sink."

Another resident, L. Vijayan, 31, also expressed disappointment claiming repairs on the temporary retaining wall were a short-term solution.

"About 2am, I came to learn that there was a burst pipe.

"It was raining heavily then, but I did not expect the situation to turn this bad because I thought the temporary retaining wall could sustain the pressure."

A check revealed that a section of the landslide had affected the back of a row of terrace-houses located near Block B.

Assistant Director of Operations of the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department Mohd Sani Harul said there were no casualties.

The cause of the incident was still being investigated. Bernama



Read more: Landslide forces 300 to evacuate - General - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/landslide-forces-300-to-evacuate-1.242721#ixzz2OtlmKzU7
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« Reply #57 on: March 29, 2013, 12:56:17 pm »

http://news.yahoo.com/china-landslide-buries-83-tibet-gold-mine-area-153622033.html
China: Landslide buries 83 in Tibet gold mine area
3/29/13

BEIJING (AP) — A massive landslide engulfed a gold mining area in mountainous Tibet, burying 83 workers believed to have been asleep early Friday morning, Chinese state media said.

About 2 million cubic meters (2.6 million cubic yards) of mud, rock and debris swept through the area as the workers were resting and covered an area measuring around 4 square kilometers (1.5 square miles), China Central Television said.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the workers in Lhasa's Maizhokunggar county worked for a subsidiary of the China National Gold Group Corp., a state-owned enterprise and the country's largest gold producer.

The disaster is likely to inflame critics of Chinese rule in Tibet who say Beijing's interests are driven by the region's mineral wealth and strategic position and come at the expense of the region's delicate ecosystem and Tibetans' Buddhist culture and traditional way of life.

The reports said at least two of the buried workers were Tibetan while most of the workers were believed to be ethnic Han Chinese, a reflection of how such large projects often create an influx of the majority ethnic group into the region.

More than 1,000 police, firefighters, soldiers and medics have been deployed to the site, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) east of Lhasa, the regional capital. They conducted searches armed with devices to detect signs of life and accompanied by sniffer dogs, reports said.

Around 30 excavators were also digging away at the site late Friday as temperatures fell to just below freezing.

The reports said the landslide was caused by a "natural disaster" but did not provide specifics. It was unclear why the first news reports of the landslide came out several hours after it occurred.

China's recently appointed President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang ordered authorities to "spare no efforts" in their rescue work, Xinhua said.

County officials reached by phone confirmed the landslide but had no further details, saying that information reaching the main office was limited due to poor cellphone coverage at the site. Calls to the company's general phone line rang unanswered.

Doctors at the local county hospital said they had been told to prepare to receive survivors but none had arrived. "We were ordered to make all efforts to receive the injured," said a doctor who gave only her surname, Ge, in the hospital's emergency section.

Ge said the hospital transferred some of its patients to other facilities to increase the number of beds available and that 16 doctors were on duty.

The Chinese government has been encouraging development of mining and other industries in long-isolated Tibet as a way to promote its economic growth and raise living standards. The region has abundant deposits of copper, chromium, bauxite and other precious minerals and metals and is one of fast-growing China's last frontiers.

Tibet remains among China's poorest regions despite producing a large share of its minerals. A key source of anti-Chinese anger is complaints by local residents that they get little of the wealth extracted by government companies, most of which flows to distant Beijing.

In 2008, unhappiness with Chinese rule spilled over into deadly riots that engulfed Lhasa and an anti-government uprising that swept many Tibetan communities. To quell the unrest, Beijing poured security forces into Tibetan areas and has kept them there since, giving the western China region the feel of a military garrison and further alienating many Tibetans.

In recent years, more than 100 Tibetans have set themselves on fire to protest the stifling security presence and call for greater religious freedom.
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« Reply #58 on: March 29, 2013, 01:04:57 pm »

White Cliffs collapse: Tonnes of chalk crash from world famous landmark into the Channel near Dover

Stretch of cliff between Dover and Deal in Kent collapsed
High winds and rain freezing have been blamed for the landslip
The National Trust has put up warning signs for walkers


They are one of the most iconic symbols of British independence and the inspiration for one of the most famous wartime songs.

But walkers have been warned to take care when walking along a stretch of the famous White Cliffs of Dover after tonnes of chalk crashed into the English Channel when part of the cliff-face sheared off.

A giant mound of clay was left on the shore near St Margaret's Bay after the collapse between between Dover and Deal in Kent.

Dover Coastguard said a bench and fencing which sat on the cliff-top were also sent tumbling to the base, prompting warnings to coastal walkers.

Fortunately, no one was hurt.
 
The collapse is thought to have been caused by a combination of high winds and rain freezing after being absorbed into the chalk and then expanding, causing the cliff to weaken.

A similar collapse saw a chunk of the cliff-face slip in March last year.


A Dover Coastguard spokesman said: 'There was a similar fall in 2012 but this one is smaller than that one. A bench and fence have gone down with it.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2298504/White-Cliffs-collapse-Tonnes-chalk-crash-world-famous-landmark-Channel-near-Dover.html#ixzz2OxAFed84
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« Reply #59 on: April 02, 2013, 04:41:19 pm »

http://theadvocate.com/home/5510933-125/tremors-at-bayou-corne-salt
Tremors at Bayou Corne salt dome halt work again Friday
4/1/13

The head of Louisiana’s Department of Natural Resources named 13 scientists and other experts Friday to serve on a blue-ribbon commission tasked with determining the long-term stability of the area around northern Assumption Parish’s sinkhole.

The 13-acre sinkhole and consequences of its emergence and continued growth, such as methane trapped under the Bayou Corne area, have forced the evacuation of 350 residents for more than seven months.

The sinkhole, found in swamps between Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou on Aug. 3, is believed to have been caused by a failed Texas Brine Co. LLC cavern mined into the Napoleonville Dome.

Members of the new panel are being asked to set up scientifically based benchmarks in regard to the sinkhole and then determine when they have been met in order to give assurances that the Bayou Corne area is safe for the return of evacuated residents.

“The work of this commission is crucial to the future of public safety in the Bayou Corne area,” DNR Secretary Stephen Chustz said in a prepared statement announcing the 13 appointments.

“We must ensure we have done all that we can to get the right people to provide the right answers in making recommendations for the future of the people who want to return,” Chustz said.

The secretary made the appointments in consultation with Jim Welsh, state Commissioner of Conservation, and Kevin Davis, director of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the statement says. The Office of Conservation is part of DNR.

Gov. Bobby Jindal called for formation of the commission earlier this month after meeting with Assumption Parish public officials and Texas Brine executives about the sinkhole.

DNR officials said in a statement that the blue-ribbon commission’s first meeting will be held in early April. Patrick Courreges, DNR spokesman, has said some of the group’s meetings would be public, but it was not clear Friday if the panel’s inaugural session would be open to the public or not.

Underscoring the lingering concerns about the growing sinkhole and when it may stabilize, yet another round of seismic activity forced parish officials to halt work around the sinkhole Friday morning for the second time in a little more than a week, officials said.

John Boudreaux, Assumption Parish’s director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said the seismic activity was detected about 7 a.m. Friday under the sinkhole and the failed Texas Brine cavern.

Seismic monitors detected an increase Friday in the “very long period” tremors that scientists have said indicate fluid and gas movement below the sinkhole, parish officials said in a blog post.

Parish officials added that Friday’s seismic activity was limited to the sinkhole and the Texas Brine cavern. The activity appears to have had no effect on a second Texas Brine cavern nearby for which structural concerns recently have been raised, parish officials said.

Water movement in the sinkhole and increased bubbling along its western edge were also detected Friday, the post says.

Boudreaux said work was stopped within the 71-acre area surrounded by a berm mandated to encircle the sinkhole. The shutdown area took in the sinkhole’s lake-like surface
.

He said crews had been working on oil retardant boom on the sinkhole at the time the work was stopped about 8:30 a.m. Friday.

But he said work related to 3-D seismic surveying of the subsurface — which involves the firing of small, buried explosive charges — continued Friday because it is outside the berm area.

The new blue-ribbon panel members include some of the experts who already have been working on the sinkhole under contract to the state Office of Conservation or on a scientific working group monitoring the sinkhole.

Members Gary Hecox, senior CB&I hydrogeologist, and Will Pettitt, an Itasca Group rock mechanic expert, both have delivered presentations to residents and the state Legislature about the sinkhole.

Working group members include David Borns, Sandia National Laboratories Geotechnology and Engineering Program manager, and Thomas Van Biersel, DNR hydrogeologist and a former Louisiana Geological Survey professor at LSU. Van Biersel is coordinating the sinkhole working group, DNR officials said.

Sandia researches salt domes for the federal Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which stores the nation’s emergency supply of crude oil in Louisiana and Texas salt domes.

Chustz said in the statement Friday that while experts around the world were sought, the panel includes scientists who already have been working on the sinkhole as well as a Bayou Corne-area resident selected, “to ensure that the members share our sense of urgency.”

Before Friday’s work stoppage, a burst of early morning tremors on March 13 caused work to be halted for about a day inside the same berm area.

That halt was followed by one of the sinkhole’s periodic burps on Sunday morning, when oil and debris surfaced, as well as the collapse of 0.95 of an acre of land on the sinkhole’s western edge.

The sinkhole’s surface is believed to be about 13 acres in size with the addition of that last slough-in and with a re-estimation of the sinkhole’s remaining edge, which added a few acres of surface also.
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