“The sinkhole was always there. It was just waiting for something to trigger it. “(Paul Pilny)

Sinkholes are pits in the ground that form in areas where water gathers without external drainage. They range in size from 3.3 feet to 2,000 feet in diameter and in depth, and most are the result of erosion, removal of rock by water, collapse of rock, decreasing water table, or even human activity such as mining, water main breaks, sewer pipe collapses, and over-pumping of groundwater.

Sinkholes can be natural or manmade. Natural sinkholes occur due to erosion or underground water. They start developing a long time before sinkholes appear. The ground beneath our feet is not as much of a solid structure as we think it is. The ground is made from dirt, along with many rocks and minerals. There is water continually seeping in between the mud, rocks, and minerals as it makes its way down to the ground water reservoirs.

"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. 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.

Some civilizations have used sink holes as waste disposal sites and human sacrifices pits, and uses such as these can result in contaminated water. Some sink holes that are water-filled are popular with cave divers. Sinkholes can be referred to as sinkholes, black holes, blue holes, cenotes, Sotanos, Tiankengs, and Tomo.

In 2010 one of the most devastating sinkholes in recent times hit Guatemala City. An area approximately 65ft wide and 100ft deep collapsed, swallowing a three-story factory and killing 15 people. The sinkhole was caused by a number of factors including an influx of water from Tropical Storm Agatha and leakage from a local sewerage pipe.

On February 12, 2014, a sinkhole some 40ft wide and 20ft deep opened under the floor of the Skydome area of the National Corvette Museum causing a portion of the floor to collapse. Eight rare and one-of-a-kind Corvettes, portions of the display stands and rails, large concrete floor slabs and dirt fell into the sinkhole, causing serious damage to some of the Corvettes. The Corvettes involved have an estimated value of a million dollars.

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. (Sinkholes happen all over the world.)

“Every day, it seems, a new extreme weather catastrophe happens somewhere in America, and the medias all over it, profiling the ordinary folks wiped out by forest fires, droughts, floods, massive sinkholes, tornadoes.” (Jane Velez-Mitchell)[i]