China Sinkhole Forces 844 To Evacuate

A sinkhole in Southern China has caused 844 people to evacuate their homes, which have been deemed unsafe.

The Huffington Post reports that the sinkhole, which is about 1.5 meters (5 feet) deep and 2.5 meters (8 feet) wide, has already caused one building to collapse, It has also caused six buildings to tilt and one to crack, although no injuries have been reported.

The Xinhua News Agency, the official news, reported that the sinkhole occurred on Saturday near a middle school in Nanning city’s Xixiangtang district after the school dug a well in hopes of easing a water shortage in the area.

According to The Washington Post, more than 800 villagers had to be evacuate in China’s Guangxi province. Sinkholes have been fairly commong in china in recent years, which is known for its karst topography. The sinkholes and land cracks have been common because of intense construction and mining activities in the past years, along with insufficient geological regulation.

The last documented sinkhole in China opened in the middle of a street in April of this year, and a girl, who was walking along the street while talking on her phone, walked into it. Gawker reports that the girl fell into a sinkhole which was about 6 meters deep in China’s Xi’an city.

A cab driver who was passing by and saw the collapse helped rescue here, climbing down the hold using a loose cable, which was hanging beneath the walkway. Firefighters showed up, bringing a ladder with them, and helped her out.

According to Gawker, cabbie Wang Wei recalled:

“The ladder kept moving about, it’s a little flimsy and the girl kept screaming out of fear. So I told her to go first and I’ll be right behind her. Finally we managed to get out.”