Post by L Roebuck on Oct 18, 2005 15:50:12 GMT -5
Sunset Cliffs sinkhole swallows boat, SUV
UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM
8:26 a.m. October 18, 2005
SAN DIEGO – A water main break in Sunset Cliffs early Tuesday morning created a large sinkhole in an alley that swallowed an SUV and a boat, authorities said.
The concrete water main underneath the alley behind Hill Street near Novara Street broke shortly after 3 a.m., opening up the sinkhole, said Tedi Jackson, a spokeswoman with the city water department.
Fifteen homes were left without water and one home on Novara was damaged by water and debris that flowed down the alley, Jackson said. It took crews about an hour to turn off the water.
"A lot of cleanup will be going on today," Jackson said. "Trying to get those vehicles out will be quite a challenge because the alley is undermined quite a bit."
It was not immediately known why the concrete pipe – which had a diameter of six or eight inches – had failed. Jackson said she could not estimate when water would be restored to the homes, but said it would likely take at least eight hours.
Repair crews were expected to arrive around 9 a.m. but their work can't be started until the SUV and the boat are pulled out of the hole. The alley is a "tight location" and Jackson said trying to remove them without causing more of the alley to collapse was going to be difficult.
"That is going to be challenging as they move forward," she said.
Breaking News Team: (619) 293-1010; breaking@uniontrib.com
www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20051018-0826-bn18hole.html
UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM
8:26 a.m. October 18, 2005
SAN DIEGO – A water main break in Sunset Cliffs early Tuesday morning created a large sinkhole in an alley that swallowed an SUV and a boat, authorities said.
The concrete water main underneath the alley behind Hill Street near Novara Street broke shortly after 3 a.m., opening up the sinkhole, said Tedi Jackson, a spokeswoman with the city water department.
Fifteen homes were left without water and one home on Novara was damaged by water and debris that flowed down the alley, Jackson said. It took crews about an hour to turn off the water.
"A lot of cleanup will be going on today," Jackson said. "Trying to get those vehicles out will be quite a challenge because the alley is undermined quite a bit."
It was not immediately known why the concrete pipe – which had a diameter of six or eight inches – had failed. Jackson said she could not estimate when water would be restored to the homes, but said it would likely take at least eight hours.
Repair crews were expected to arrive around 9 a.m. but their work can't be started until the SUV and the boat are pulled out of the hole. The alley is a "tight location" and Jackson said trying to remove them without causing more of the alley to collapse was going to be difficult.
"That is going to be challenging as they move forward," she said.
Breaking News Team: (619) 293-1010; breaking@uniontrib.com
www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20051018-0826-bn18hole.html