A Louisiana sinkhole which is now over 84 acres in size is under the strict radar of the authorities after it swallowed trees over 7 stories high in less than 30 seconds last Wednesday.
The hole is estimated to be at least 400 feet deep and is only expected to grow bigger since it first opened up August 2012. Now, its diameter is at about 372 feet. In another estimation, it is as large as 21 football fields and currently sits smack at the center of a wooded space in the Assumption Parish, 50 miles away from Baton Rouge. There were no casualties as authorities have long mandated over 24,000 residents to relocate in fear of explosions or radiation exposure.
The cause of the massive sinkhole is being blamed on the collapse of a side wall of a cavern ran by a petrochemical company called Texas Brine last August 2, 2012. Now it is the subject of law suit between the company and the state of Louisiana. There have also been reports that Texas Brine is offering compensation deals to the families who have been affected. Mother Jones reports the incident as "the biggest ongoing industrial disaster in the United States you haven't heard of."
John Boudreaux, director of emergency preparedness in the parish was checking the site just as the incident happened. "I was just standing there and I pointed out, "Hey, it looks like they're moving. It looks like they're moving," and that was when his colleague picked up the camera and later on uploaded the terrifying video in the parish's blog. Bordeaux later explains that 'The sinkhole continues to be active and growing.'
The active mining and drilling of Texas Brine is what's believed to be causing the growth of the sinkhole, leading to more underground tremors. The state and the company have yet to settle their disputes. Apart from the law suit, there's no word yet as to how exactly Louisiana and Texas Brine are going to deal with the matter.
© 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
