Missouri among top seven states susceptible to sinkholes
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Rescuers on Wednesday were searching for a woman who possibly fell into a Pennsylvania sinkhole Monday night. Police said they found a parked vehicle belonging to Elizabeth Pollard, 64, about 20 feet from the sinkhole. Pollard had gone out to look for her lost cat and never returned.
Pennsylvania State Trooper Steve Limani told the Associated Press that a camera lowered into the hole showed what could be a shoe about 30 feet (9 meters) below the surface.
Missouri, like Pennsylvania, is a state prone to sinkholes. They both made the list of the seven states most prone to sinkholes, according to the US Geological Survey.
Missouri has about 16,000 sinkholes, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Geologists think many more exist that have yet to be reported or documented.
The largest documented sinkhole in the state is located in Boone County, southeast of where Interstate 70 crosses the Missouri River, according to previous reporting. It spans about 700 acres.
“The other higher concentration of sinkholes would be around the Rock Bridge State Park area,” said Chris Kelley, Director of Emergency Management for Boone County.
"You can see that they're not random," said Dr. Paco Gomez, a MU professor in the Department of Geological Sciences.
Missouri's geography makes it highly susceptible to sinkholes. The state also has more than 7,500 caves and 4,400 springs. These make up a karst landscape. A large chunk of the state -- including all of Mid-Missouri -- has Karst topography, which means rock under the ground dissolves easily, forming holes.
"Karst is a type of landscape characterized by the presence of springs, sinkholes, losing streams and caves, created as groundwater dissolves soluble rock such as limestone or dolomite," according to DNR's website.
Sinkholes are common occurrences in karst topography. They are formed by the dissolution of carbonate bedrock or the collapse of underlying caves.
Underground cavities can lead to catastrophic sinkholes, which is why abandoned mines can also be a cause for concern. DNR put together a Missouri Mine Repository and an Interactive Abandoned Mine Lands Map to show the locations of higher-risk areas.
"The biggest thing for the public to avoid any injury and death for a sinkhole is know where those sinkholes are,” Kelley said.
Sinkholes can be catastrophic and capable of swallowing up large sections of land.
“Nixa, that was one that comes to mind," Gomez said. "Where it [sinkhole] took half of the house. Fortunately, the gentleman who lived there, it didn't take the half that he was in.”
In 2013, a U.S. Marine at Fort Leonard Wood died after falling into a sinkhole in Pulaski County.
But Gomez says the number of sinkholes across the Show-Me State are increasing, rather advanced technology is helps reveal sinkholes.
“It’s not that they're suddenly developing," Gomez said. "Some of these [sinkholes] are in very remote or forested areas and we didn't have the tools to find them.”
Kelley said if an area appears to be sinking, keep a safe distance away and call 911.
