A 30m-Wide Sinkhole in Japan Causes Roads to Sink In & Buildings to Lean to a Side

Yesterday morning (26 September), a massive sinkhole opened up in Nishi-ku, Hiroshima City, flooding the area and causing the surrounding buildings to cave in slightly. 

While we were battling the MRT disruption on 26 September, the residents in the Fukushima-cho neighbourhood in Nishi-ku were dealing with a much more terrifying problem. 

At 8.50 am (7.50 am Singapore time), local police were alerted to a bulge that had formed on a road in Nishi-ku.

The area, an intersection between five roads, was undergoing construction work to improve storm drains and prevent flooding. 

Not long after, the bulge gave way, causing the road to collapse over an area of about 40m (North to South) and 15m (East to West). According to the Hiroshima newspaper Chugoku Shimbun, chunks of asphalt rose out of the hole, and water started water seeping out of the hole. 

Eight surrounding homes and businesses were affected, as cracks appeared in walls and buildings started to lean in the direction of the sinkhole. 

Police and firefighters responded by quickly asking the local residents within a 50m radius of the intersection to evacuate urgently and warning them of a possible building collapse. They even went so far as to use drones to inspect the surrounding areas. 

For those who were unable to leave the tilted buildings, the emergency services quickly came to their rescue.

According to Japanese news outlet NHK, all evacuation efforts were completed by 11.30 am. 38 people from 19 households were sent to a secondary evacuation shelter, Kannon Elementary School. 

There were also reports of tap water turning yellow and murky in the surrounding areas, suggesting that the sinkhole may have damaged the underground water supply. 

At a press conference yesterday afternoon (3 pm), the Hiroshima City Sewerage Bureau announced that the sinkhole collapse was possibly linked to the ongoing storm drain construction. 

The collapsing road likely hit and broke an underground water pipe. But, the city notes that it was unlikely that the flooding was caused by a broken water pipe. 

Despite the initial survey of the land, it seems possible that there may have been a pool of water collecting underground. 

Efforts are now focused on investigating the exact cause of the collapse and restoring the affected area as quickly as possible. 

If you remember the 2016 Fukuoka sinkhole, which was also caused by construction, you’ll recall how it went viral after it was fixed in less than a week. Let’s hope the same speedy repairs can be done for Nishi-ku so residents can get back to their routines soon.

A Growing Problem

The Nishi-ku sinkhole comes only a day after another sinkhole opened up at Kuala Lumpur Airport’s VIP complex. In the past month alone, a tourist in Kuala Lumpur fell eight metres when the ground gave way beneath her, and in Seoul, a sinkhole swallowed a car, leaving two injured. It’s starting to feel like there’s an epidemic of sinkholes across Asia. 

With our rainy climate and the continuous construction projects all over the island, could Singapore be the next to fall victim?

You can watch this video to know what sinkholes are: