Massive Sinkhole Slowly Grows Near Houston
Sinkhole Is 260 Feet Deep, 700 Feet In Diameter
POSTED: Thursday, May 8, 2008
UPDATED: 8:05 pm CDT May 8,
2008
  Massive sinkhole near Houston
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DAISETTA, Texas -- A massive sinkhole in southern Texas that has swallowed everything in its path is continuing to grow slowly, KPRC-TV in Houston reported.The sinkhole is in a rural area about 50 miles northeast of Houston in Daisetta.It started as a crack in the road and grew into a sinkhole about 10 a.m. Wednesday. The sinkhole has a diameter of about 700 feet and is more than 260 feet deep.Officials said it has grown in all directions, but they are most concerned about its growth to the east.It gobbled up about 20 feet per hour on Wednesday but growth has since slowed, officials said. It isn't known if the hole will get bigger."It could double its size," geologist Carl Norman said. "This thing may become stable any day or it may be collapsing six months from now."Norman said residents reported feeling the ground tremble before it collapsed."People noticed that the ground was sinking but it hadn't collapsed," Norman said. "There's a little roadway that goes across it and that roadway was warped down."Construction equipment, tanks, trees and everything else in the sinkhole's path fell into the hole. Crews drained tanks that could be consumed by the hole.Daisetta's mayor said he thinks the worst is over."It's going to make a nice lake," Mayor Lynn Wells said. "I don't live too far from here, so maybe it'll make nice lakeside property."Daisetta was built on salt domes and experts believe the oil taken from the wells caused the land to cave in.Oil gathered at the bottom of the sinkhole. The property it consumed was described as a disposal well."They inject salt water when they're drilling oil wells in the area. They store the salt water and inject it back into the ground," said Chief Les Hulsey of the Daisetta Police Department. "That well is still pressured up and holding pressure. The sinkhole hasn't affected it."The company that was on the land that has been consumed has been forced out of business. Officials have not said how many people were employed at Deloach Vacuum Disposal Co.The Texas Railroad Commission is at the scene. That agency oversees oil and gas production and transportation in Texas.The nearest home to the sinkhole is about a quarter-mile to a half-mile away and no evacuations have been ordered yet.Businesses and schools also remain open and no injuries have been reported.It isn't yet known the cost of the sinkhole's damage.
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