Giant sinkhole swallows 3 cars on South Side- Chicago

April 18, 2013 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- The severe flooding across the Chicago area Thursday morning is causing problems on roadways.
The sinkhole swallowed three cars at 96th and Houston in the Jeffery Manor neighborhood. It started to open around 5:15 a.m
Chicago Police Department spokesman Mike Sullivan says the injured man was driving when the road buckled and caved in. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The other two cars were parked.

ABC News

Yet another sinkhole has opened up, this time in conjunction with heavy rainfall in the Chicago area. There are several pics of the sinkhole at the link (sorry, don't know how to upload them). This one has been growing since 5 this morning. No reports of home evacs as of now. Not much more info out there about it. Hopefully it has done all it's gonna do.


ETA: Chicago FD has been working the scene. You can listen via Chicago FD

From the link:

MAJOR flooding throughout Chicago area! Most viaducts and streets flooded. CFD Co's. on many gas & electricial investations due to flooding of basement appliances! LARGE sink hole at 96th & Houston Ave. w/ 4 autos, & growing!! (9 minutes ago)

~OkieDokie

well damn I haven't been outside, it's been pouring here in Chicago for days. I just hope no sink hole sucked me down the earth crust. I hope that guy is okay!

Yea I'm in TInley Park and the amount of rain we're seeing is beyond crazy... My backyard, which is a golf course looks like a lake now.... Sump pump is earning it's keep today, hopefully the power doesnt go out or Ill have major basement flooding..

Now these people may have to buy new cars. They could be in the whole for up to 60 months.

Pretty crazy to see that up north. I live in FL, and when you said Giant sinkhole I expected a great canyon, that's big, but there are bigger ones in the south for sure.

This lady was upset because the police didn't get there for an hour and a half.. what if somebody was in the sinkhole that needed to be rescued? Pay those taxes.

I live in NW Indiana... this is the first time i'm hearing of this.
(much thanks to ATS) Quicker news here than the mainstream

Leave the cars alone.

Swallow the Chicago politicians that screw up this State...... Please!

Originally posted by eXia7
Pretty crazy to see that up north. I live in FL, and when you said Giant sinkhole I expected a great canyon, that's big, but there are bigger ones in the south for sure.

This lady was upset because the police didn't get there for an hour and a half.. what if somebody was in the sinkhole that needed to be rescued? Pay those taxes.

The issue is that streets are blocked everywhere, even expressways are shut down... Its hard to get anywhere because of the amount of rain

reply to post by jhn7537


Stay safe out there! You guys under any tornado watches? I am in eastern OK and the storms passed through here this morning and weren't nearly as bad as they were expecting. (Thank goodness) They started off pretty bad in the SW and kinda just piddled out by the time they reached us. Hopefully they will let up for ya'll soon.

~OkieDokie

What is the average size of a sink hole because every time i see these reported they always say 'giant sinkhole' but they are usually about 30 feet across.

Edit : i just looked it up on wiki

1 to 600 metres

So i wish they would stop over exaggerating the size of these things on the news. A giant sinkhole would be a of 1000 feet across.

reply to post by OkieDokie


The tornado watches were last night for me, around 1 am storms got REAL violent here, which is horrible, becuase you never want to go to sleep during a storm with possible tornado threats...haha

Originally posted by resoe26
I live in NW Indiana... this is the first time i'm hearing of this.
(much thanks to ATS) Quicker news here than the mainstream

To tell ya the truth, I actually found this while looking through the scanners this morning. Last night, an ATS member broke the story about the Texas explosion via the scanner and I just saw this pop up on there this morning. If you go to the link in the OP, you can click on the "Top Feeds" link on the top of the page and it will show you the ones with the most traffic. If there is something major happening, it has been giving a quick write up about the situation under the associated scanner.

~OkieDokie

Tom LaPorte, speaking for the Water Department, said the sinkhole was caused by a broken water main. He said the water was, in all likelihood, drinking water, and not sewage. The water mains in the area are made of cast iron, and date back to 1915. Whether the age of the pipes contributed to the break is not known.

It is possible that drenching rains and local flooding contributed to the sinkhole's development. The Chicago area received between three and five inches of rain yesterday, with more is forecast for today.

Link

Looks like they are linking it to a broken water main with some help from all the rain. I am sure it doesn't help that the pipes are almost a hundred years old.

~OkieDokie

To give you an idea of the rain I've seen, the picture below is my backyard... That should be a golf course fairway, but instead its a mini lake...

reply to post by jhn7537


I'm in Oak Forest..... Hiya neighbor..... I heard about this earlier on the news but didnt' hear anything else much since I left for work. @ OP thanks for the update. SnF

Can I sell my place as waterfront property now???

reply to post by jhn7537


Whoa... I am sure golfers aren't gonna be too happy about that added water hazard! Thanks for sharing the pic, it sure puts it into perspective just how much rain ya'll are seeing.

~OkieDokie

reply to post by OkieDokie


Yea, thankfully its slowing down now. For a second I wondered if it was ever going stop...

These sink holes opening up world wide are just so concerning.

At one point is was shocking to see a few here and there but now it is almost becoming a norm.

It is great news to hear that the man who fell in Chicago is not harmed and did not sink and die like the other man last month who's brother listened to him descending and was unable to help him.

Stay safe Chicago friends, spring is just around the corner and soon you will see better days.