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A fishing trip turned to tragedy for two young men in Queens when they both suddenly got into trouble in the water.

Fox 5’s Rob Malcolm was on the scene (watch the video, left).

Police say the body of a male was found Sunday afternoon by search and rescue crews in Jamaica Bay.

Police have not released the identity of the male who was pulled from the water.

The Coast Guard, FDNY, and NYPD rescue crews had been on scene searching for a missing 19-year-old fisherman Sunday afternoon.

The Coast Guard received a call that two fishermen were in distress and possibly pulled into a sinkhole.

The Coast Guard says rescuers pulled one of the men out. He was taken to a nearby hospital.

The men were fishing near the North Channel Bridge. They were reportedly fishing in waist high water when one of them was pulled into the sink hole. The other attempted to help him, and was also pulled into the sink hole.

The rescued fisherman was taken to a local hospital. No word on his condition.

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Sinkhole opens up, traps person on Seattle waterfront

 

 

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A man was rescued Thursday morning by firefighters after he tumbled into a 10-foot-deep hole that opened up in the sidewalk along Seattle’s downtown waterfront, one of the city’s most popular promenades and tourist attractions.The 60-year-old man reported minor back pain and was taken to Harborview Medical Center to be examined, Fire Department spokeswoman Dana Vander Houwen said.

The sidewalk, atop the deteriorating sea wall that separates Alaskan Way from Elliott Bay, is at the southern end of a walkway strolled by thousands of people daily. City officials have long urged that the sea wall be fixed, and a new wall is planned as part of a $4.2 billion project to replace the Alaskan Way viaduct with a tunnel by 2015.

The hole, about 2 to 4 feet wide and 7 feet long, opened up without warning about 8 a.m. at a small park at the foot of South Washington Street in the city’s historic Pioneer Square neighborhood. The park is just south of the Washington State Ferries terminal that links downtown Seattle with the west side of Puget Sound.

In the mid-19th century, the land beneath the sidewalk was mud flats and near a sawmill at the foot of Skid Road, the one-time path where logs were skidded downhill and that later became a generic term for down-and-out neighborhoods.

Vander Houwen said 26 firefighters worked to rescue the man, blocking heavily used Alaskan Way during the morning rush hour.

There was a hollow space beneath where the 4-inch-thick sidewalk gave way, she said. “He was trapped by some of his clothing and backpack.”

The man cut off a sleeve that was snagged in the hole as firefighters drilled bolts into nearby concrete, fastened ropes to the bolts and lowered pieces of wood and inflatable air bags to stabilize the soil.

Ladders were extended across the opening, and the man was placed into a harness and pulled to the surface after about an hour, Vander Houwen said.

The walkway will remain closed to pedestrians until it can be further examined, she said.

In late 2005, Mayor Greg Nickels said small marine creatures were boring through the sea wall so rapidly that city divers had to increase the frequency of inspections of the wood and steel structure to twice a year.

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2 men fished from Tampa sinkhole

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TAMPA, Fla. – Hillsborough County Fire Rescue says two men who fell into a sinkhole were taken to a Tampa hospital with minor injuries.

Firefighters pulled the men from the sinkhole Thursday night. It was the second sinkhole incident in the area in two weeks.

Last week, a Tampa-area home was nearly entirely swallowed by a sinkhole that was almost 15 feet deep. The sinkhole opened under the home of Jim and Joan Bates in Spring Hill on Wednesday afternoon and the garage and front of the ranch was devoured.

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Sinkholes Threaten Clarksville Homes

14-Foot Hole Threatens House’s Foundation

Reported by Alan Frio

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Some Middle Tennessee neighborhoods have been dealing with flooding issues after repeated storms this month.

 

Video: Massive Sinkholes Threaten Homes

 

One Clarksville neighborhood not only had high water, but massive sinkholes are threatening their homes. 

After heavy rains fell on Saturday morning, Rick Thomas of Monterey Place spotted a 14-foot deep hole on the side of his house that is threatening his home’s foundation

“It leaves you kind of numb,” said Thomas.

 

On the same day, Thomas found another sinkhole in the front of his home. He said this is something he has been dealing with for the last 22 years. 

Thomas is not the only one in the neighborhood with sinkhole problems, there are depressions in the ground everywhere in the area. Three other homeowners said they have sinkholes. 

Ivy Roberts’ property is right next door to Thomas, and she has the same problems. 

Roberts bought her home 10 months ago and said she was never told of the sinkhole problems in this neighborhood. 

“We took all the money we had and bought this home because we lost our other home in east Tennessee by fire. We got the money for the house, came here and bought this, and now this is gone,” said Roberts. 

Decades of runoff from heavy rains has undermined the ground. 

Resident Jerry Holt’s home flooded on Saturday. He said his back yard looked like a lake with water rushing into his house. 

“I bought shelving in the garage and everything is a foot and a half off the floor, because I know if the water comes in, I have 30 minutes to get everything up off the floor,” said Holt. 

Whenever heavy rains are predicted, most residents said they get little sleep worrying about flooding and sinkholes. 

“It’ll keep me up all night worrying what I’m going find here in the morning,” said Thomas.

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Another sinkhole appears in Calgary

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

For the second time in a week, a sinkhole has formed near a Calgary condominium worksite.

The Calgary Fire Department was recently called to a building in downtown Calgary to investigate reports of a sinkhole in the underground parkade of a condo near a construction site.

The problem was discovered when the front wheel of a pickup truck dropped into the sinkhole.

“When crews from Station #2 and heavy rescue specialists arrived, they observed a sizable hole in the floor of the parkade upon which a pick-up truck was parked,” said a City of Calgary press release.

The incident commander evacuated the building because the hole was adjacent to one of the building’s structural support members.

The heavy rescue team and firefighters removed the pick-up truck and examined the sinkhole.

It is four metres wide by three metres deep and there was a visible connection to the large construction site on the east side of the parkade.

Under the direction of engineers from Lake Placid Developments, the company building the Centuria on the Park condominium project nearby, the sinkhole was filled in using gravel material.

The city also directed the engineers to assess and report on the stability of the adjacent building.

Thirteen residents in eight suites were evacuated from the nearby building and were not allowed to return until the city got an engineering report determining the safety of the complex.

Engineers are also investigating whether the Centuria development project caused the sinkhole’s appearance.

“I am not prepared to make a comment until such time as we are fully appraised by our engineer,” said Steve Seal, executive VP of development with Lake Placid Developments.

“We have retained an engineer and we need to have this team move forward. We don’t have a specific time-line because we want to make sure the proper due diligence is carried out.”

A Calgary city alderman said crews are also looking closely at the safety of other excavation sites.

“There is work being done now to find out how long these other sites were open and some risk assessment is being done,” said Ric McIver.

“We know there are a lot more open excavations around, but we don’t know which will manifest in sinkholes.”

The city is monitoring nine abandoned sites in Calgary and three of these sites have already had work done.

“Once problems start popping up, the city must become more aware, especially when projects are pushed back for an uncertain amount of time,” he said.

“It makes the need for due diligence greater.

McIver said the sinkhole problem is starting to become a major public policy issue in the city.

“We probably need to review our policy on open excavations and make sure we are covered in terms of the amount of time it is open, the type of shoring that is used to maintain the integrity of the surrounding area,” he said. “The review will also include what type of due diligence and inspections can be done and who would pay for it.”

Centuria on the Park broke ground a year and a half ago and is still in the excavation phase.

The discovery of the sinkhole marks the third time a hole has been found near the construction site in the past 10 months.

The first sinkhole appeared last July.

The second was found last fall on 2nd Street, between 13th and 14th avenues. It was repaired by the city’s roads department.

So far, no connection has been determined between the holes and the adjacent construction site.

This is the second time in a week that a large sinkhole has developed next to the excavated construction site of a condo development in downtown Calgary.

A massive sinkhole, which was discovered on April 24, developed under a road adjacent the Gateway-Midtown condo project, owned by Pointe of View Developments.

Its cause has not yet been determined.

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Sinkhole swallows Hernando home

Reported by: Keith Baker

HERNANDO COUNTY, FL — A large sinkhole swallowed up a Spring Hill home late Wednesday.  Local officials say it’s one of the biggest sinkholes they’ve seen.

Damage to the house and its contents at 2133 block of Orchard Park Drive is put at $250,000.

Joni Bates was able to get out of the one story concrete block structure safely with her puppies.  She says insurance should cover the damage.  “They just renewed it, believe it or not.  So, even though I had a sinkhole, I’m very, very fortunate and I thank God,” she said.

The local Red Cross chapter is helping Joni find temporary shelter and clothing.

Florida has more sinkholes than any other state.  They originate beneath the surface when groundwater moves through the limestone and erodes large cavities in the bedrock. When the water table drops, a sinkhole can form.

In this case, it was under Joni Bates’ house. 

“I’ve been here 22 years, part of my life is gone.  My boys grew up in this house”,  she said.

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Sinkhole still collapsing as merchants point fingers

PennDOT making effort to protect Route 65

Thursday, May 07, 2009

By Brian David, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The state Department of Transportation is taking steps to protect Route 65 from being devoured by an East Rochester sinkhole that already has claimed a restaurant and is encroaching on a Pizza Hut and GetGo station.

Lane restrictions were posted this week on Route 65 so that experts from Gannett Fleming Engineers could assess the stability of the road and determine the best way to shore it up.

“We are surveying the roadway to make sure it’s not moving,” PennDOT District 11 spokesman Jim Struzzi said.

The sinkhole, which started two years ago as a small hole in the parking lot of the Evergreen Restaurant, is now 40 feet across and 60 feet deep.

It forced the demolition of the Evergreen Restaurant in 2007 and is now encroaching the Pizza Hut parking lot.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Environmental Protection is ramping up the pressure to get the sinkhole repaired, along with the failed drain system that caused it. Late last month, it filed a petition asking the court to enforce a repair order issued to seven property owners a year ago.

Beyond giving emergency workers access to their properties, none of the property owners have taken substantive steps toward repair, though Giant Eagle, Inc., is doing work to divert its storm water.

DEP spokesperson Helen Humphries singled out Evergreen owners Argyrios and Stella Apostolis, saying they “have not yet taken appropriate action.”

But the Apostolises, who saw their undermined restaurant demolished in Jan. 2008, have sued several other property owners as well as East Rochester, saying that an improper tap into a drain on their property and the fact it was carrying the borough’s storm water were key in the failure, and that they were not responsible for maintaining it.

According to that lawsuit, the SuperAmerica gas station — the precursor to the GetGo — was having drainage problems in 1996, and got East Rochester’s permission to tap into a vertical pipe beneath the Evergreen’s parking lot.

The suit says the borough pressured the Apostolises into agreeing, with the understanding that the gas station would keep insurance on the line and do maintenance.

The suit says the pipe was not designed for constant flow of water, which contributed to its failure. It also says the lines carried runoff from much of East Rochester, and that the SuperAmerica and GetGo stations did not get insurance or maintain the line.

“I’m still paying the loan on that hole,” Mr. Apostolis said. “I want my money back, my property back.”

His is not the only lawsuit.

The Pizza Hut restaurant parking lot is slowly being consumed, and its owner, Tri-L Pizza Huts Inc., recently sued the Apostolises, claiming that since the sinkhole started on their property it is their responsibility.

Beaver County Emergency Management Director Wes Hill said the pipe corroded, letting dirt fall down into a 12-foot culvert. The culvert, designed to carry runoff water along with three natural waterways down to the Ohio River, began to back up.

Eventually the whole system collapsed. With water flowing into the hole, the erosion has continued.

Meanwhile, the water that is supposed to go through the culvert underneath Route 65 and the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks is instead working its way through the earth beneath the highway, emerging on the downhill side and partially flooding the tracks.

Having even a small amount of water undercutting the roadway “is certainly a serious situation,” Mr. Struzzi said.

Mr. Struzzi previously said that the department would likely use gabian blankets — wire boxes filled with stone — to stop erosion beneath the roadway and stabilize its base, but said this week that the solution would depend on Gannett Fleming’s findings.

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Sinkhole swallows home in Spring Hill

By Joel Anderson, Times Staff Writer 
In Print: Thursday, May 7, 2009

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Spring Hill Fire Rescue’s Kevin Carroll, center, talks to Jim Bates, left, and Joan Bates, sitting, about their home with neighbors Natasha Williams and Hortense Chong. The home is roped off and the Bateses were warned against going inside.
	[DAVE CASEY | Special to the Tim

SPRING HILL

Over the past few months, Jim and Joan Bates have heard creaks echo throughout their home and have seen cracks form in the walls and the floors. It gave them a sinking feeling.

So the couple hired an engineer and a local contractor who pledged to fix any “sinkhole activity” that would threaten to swallow their 23-year-old home.

They were a little too late.

A nearly 15-foot-deep sinkhole opened under the Bates’ home at 2133 Orchard Park on Wednesday afternoon, almost completely devouring the garage and the front of the sprawling, ranch-style house.

Though that area of Hernando County is known for some of the heaviest sinkhole activity in west-central Florida, neighbors and rescue crews said it was one of the largest and deepest — and most destructive — sinkholes they had seen.

At the time the gaping hole formed, a crew from Geo-Logical, Inc. of Port Richey was working to repair holes under the 2,100-square-foot home. “Hey, it happens,” Jim Bates, 51, said. “We’re just thankful that no one was inside the home or got hurt.”

In fact, Bates was almost jovial about the ordeal. He said the house is worth less than they paid and that the insurance money they will recoup will be more than the house is worth.

“It’s a blessing in disguise,” he said. “We’ve got a home with four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a sunken garage.”

Jim works for the Pasco County school district; Joan is retired. They were at a doctor’s appointment when their home was swallowed, but their three dogs — Mandy, Mindy and Rudy — were inside. The dogs were freed by the construction crew.

The couple returned to find that their front yard had turned into a natural disaster, 23 years to the day Joan Bates, 57, moved into the home with her young family.

Upon seeing the partially collapsed house, she sat on the ground and teared up.

Several neighbors came by to offer their sympathies, gawk at the damage and take pictures.

“Everyone has been having sinkhole activity around here,” said Brett Levy, who lives across the street. “But this is horrible.”

“It’s unbelievable,” said Kevin Carroll, a district chief with Spring Hill Fire Rescue. “This is pretty close to one of the worst. And I get called on these regularly.”

Over the years, homeowners in Hernando and Pasco counties have experienced steep insurance spikes because of sinkholes. Geologists have said they think the sinkholes are appearing because limestone bedrock in the area is close to the surface, making it more likely to break apart. The drought adds to the problem as groundwater levels decrease.

Joan Bates moved into the home in 1986 but the cracks and noises from the shifting ground recently made it hard to feel safe.

Hopeful that they could fix the problem, the couple called on Geo-Logical to fix the holes through a process called “compaction grouting.” Essentially, the crew will drill holes around the home and pump them full of concrete to fill the fissures.

Jim Bates said the crew started working at the home last week. But sometime Wednesday afternoon, Bates said the crew noticed a hole forming under the garage.

“It just opened bigger and bigger,” Bates said.

Within minutes, the home was consumed. As of Wednesday night, Carroll said the house still seemed to be sinking. He said there was nothing to do but rope off the site.

Carroll wouldn’t allow his firefighters to go inside and the Bateses have been advised to stay out, too. The couple was looking for a place to stay Wednesday night that would allow their dogs.

Jim Bates said insurance would cover the damages. Carroll contacted Red Cross and Publix to make sure the couple could renew their prescriptions and get some items they might need for the next few days.

Inside the home were nearly all of the couple’s possessions. In particular, Jim Bates wanted to salvage his “toys” — two water scooters and a motorcycle — from the garage. “We’ll probably move back to this area,” Bates said. “Florida is still a great place — sinkholes or not.”

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Large sinkhole develops in an Elba housing subdivision
Posted: 5:06 PM May 6, 2009 Last Updated: 5:08 PM May 6, 2009
Recent heavy rains may be responsible for the appearance of a sinkhole in the western Wiregrass. Crews are working to fill in the dirt on Pine Circle. It’s located in the Brookdale subdivision of Elba. The contractor will replace the manhole. It’s hoped that this will solve the problem. With Coffee County covered under the FEMA disaster declaration, local officials hope the federal dollars will reimburse them for the repairs which will run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Homeowners say it’s an inconvenience, but at least no one has been hurt. It’s hoped that the work on filling in the Elba sinkhole will be completed within the week.

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UPDATE: Sinkhole Threatening Family’s Home

Reported by: Lauren Trager, KARK 4 News

We have more information on a giant sinkhole in the front yard of a Little Rock home that we first told you about Sunday. It’s threatening to swallow the home.

The hole is about 20 feet long, 15 feet wide and 10 feet deep. Look a little closer and you see water running through it–and the remnants of the concrete box that used to hold the water inside.

Early Sunday morning Homer and Maxine Boose say they heard what sounded like a muffled bomb going off and later learned their yard had caved in.

Today, city workers evaluated the sink hole, to decide what to do about this private drainage ditch– put in long before the city regulated where and how you could build-possibly 60 or 70 years old.

The Booses say they’re worried about the safety of their home and are considering moving.

“I really don’t want to live here like this. I don’t know what to do and I don’t know what to say because I really don’t want to live here like this,” said Maxine Boose.

The city says they are still considering options for repairing the sink hole—but say because it isn’t a city-owned drainage system, they aren’t totally responsible and likely will not pay to move the Booses to another home.