Post by L Roebuck on Nov 30, 2005 8:24:49 GMT -5
Portland couple wake up, discover home in sinkhole
People who live near two should not worry, geologist says
By LEA ANN OVERSTREET
The (Gallatin) News Examiner
PORTLAND — A local geologist says homeowners who live near a Portland couple whose home collapsed into a sinkhole yesterday should not fear the same thing will happen to them.
"Sinkholes are common, but most do not open under land that's been developed," said Clark Cropper, professor of geology at Volunteer State Community College.
"But it really isn't something the others need to panic about. Sinkholes usually happen slowly and just because it happened to them, it doesn't mean it will happen again."
Troy and Yvonne Givens woke up early yesterday morning and found a gaping hole in their home and many of their precious belongings lost.
"It's all just a nightmare. The earth is just gone," Yvonne Givens said.
"It's such a terrible thing to wake up to something like this," Troy Givens said.
Yvonne Givens got up to make the usual pot of coffee that morning, and there was nothing usual about what she found.
"I opened my blinds and thought for a second that I was dizzy," she said. "Then I realized it was the floor moving."
The ground beneath their home collapsed sometime during the night. Fortunately, it collapsed on the opposite side of the house from where the couple was sleeping.
"It's amazing that we slept right through it. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if it had been under our bedroom," Yvonne Givens said.
For the time being, the Givens will stay with family because they cannot return to the house.
"We just don't know what will happen. There are stress fractures around the house from the collapse," Planning and Codes Director Jonathan Britt said. "A geoengineer will have to check the house, but right now I don't think they'll be able to live here."
Family, friends and neighbors flocked to the Givens home after hearing about what happened.
"I just don't know what to say. There have been so many people here helping ... some I don't even know," Yvonne Givens said.
The dead-end road the couple lives on often was 30 cars deep with people arriving to help.
Yvonne's sister, Alice Walker, who recently resigned as director of the Portland Chamber of Commerce, fought back tears as she described how everyone worked to get the couple's belongings out of the house.
"It was like an assembly line," Walker said. "We couldn't all go in at once so we just lined up and got things out one by one."
The Givens' home was built more than 30 years ago at 106 Hood Trail Road. They have lived there since the mid-1980s, and Givens says they never knew of the problem lurking beneath them.
Cropper says that's not unusual.
"There usually are no signs. Sometimes, cracks in foundation can be a sign but not necessarily," he said.
Cropper says sink holes are just part of living in a karst area, meaning the ground is full of limestone.
"And limestone is soluble and when it dissolves below the surface, then the roof of a void or cavity underneath can collapse inward," Cropper said.
"You can't see it from the surface. When the cavity enlarges and it can't support the soil anymore, it collapses."
Nick Crawford, a geologist and director for the Center for Cave and Karst Studies at Western Kentucky University, said rainfall often causes the collapse.
"During heavy rains, the water tends to go past the arch above the cavity and collapses that arch," Crawford said.
According to the National Weather Service, Portland received 0.96 inches of rain from 6 a.m. on Monday to 6 a.m. yesterday.
"I would be kind of shocked if it impacted other homes," Crawford said. "We don't get the sinkhole collapses like they get in Florida where it covers the whole city block."
Tennessean.com
www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051130/COUNTY08/511300417/1006/NEWS
People who live near two should not worry, geologist says
By LEA ANN OVERSTREET
The (Gallatin) News Examiner
PORTLAND — A local geologist says homeowners who live near a Portland couple whose home collapsed into a sinkhole yesterday should not fear the same thing will happen to them.
"Sinkholes are common, but most do not open under land that's been developed," said Clark Cropper, professor of geology at Volunteer State Community College.
"But it really isn't something the others need to panic about. Sinkholes usually happen slowly and just because it happened to them, it doesn't mean it will happen again."
Troy and Yvonne Givens woke up early yesterday morning and found a gaping hole in their home and many of their precious belongings lost.
"It's all just a nightmare. The earth is just gone," Yvonne Givens said.
"It's such a terrible thing to wake up to something like this," Troy Givens said.
Yvonne Givens got up to make the usual pot of coffee that morning, and there was nothing usual about what she found.
"I opened my blinds and thought for a second that I was dizzy," she said. "Then I realized it was the floor moving."
The ground beneath their home collapsed sometime during the night. Fortunately, it collapsed on the opposite side of the house from where the couple was sleeping.
"It's amazing that we slept right through it. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if it had been under our bedroom," Yvonne Givens said.
For the time being, the Givens will stay with family because they cannot return to the house.
"We just don't know what will happen. There are stress fractures around the house from the collapse," Planning and Codes Director Jonathan Britt said. "A geoengineer will have to check the house, but right now I don't think they'll be able to live here."
Family, friends and neighbors flocked to the Givens home after hearing about what happened.
"I just don't know what to say. There have been so many people here helping ... some I don't even know," Yvonne Givens said.
The dead-end road the couple lives on often was 30 cars deep with people arriving to help.
Yvonne's sister, Alice Walker, who recently resigned as director of the Portland Chamber of Commerce, fought back tears as she described how everyone worked to get the couple's belongings out of the house.
"It was like an assembly line," Walker said. "We couldn't all go in at once so we just lined up and got things out one by one."
The Givens' home was built more than 30 years ago at 106 Hood Trail Road. They have lived there since the mid-1980s, and Givens says they never knew of the problem lurking beneath them.
Cropper says that's not unusual.
"There usually are no signs. Sometimes, cracks in foundation can be a sign but not necessarily," he said.
Cropper says sink holes are just part of living in a karst area, meaning the ground is full of limestone.
"And limestone is soluble and when it dissolves below the surface, then the roof of a void or cavity underneath can collapse inward," Cropper said.
"You can't see it from the surface. When the cavity enlarges and it can't support the soil anymore, it collapses."
Nick Crawford, a geologist and director for the Center for Cave and Karst Studies at Western Kentucky University, said rainfall often causes the collapse.
"During heavy rains, the water tends to go past the arch above the cavity and collapses that arch," Crawford said.
According to the National Weather Service, Portland received 0.96 inches of rain from 6 a.m. on Monday to 6 a.m. yesterday.
"I would be kind of shocked if it impacted other homes," Crawford said. "We don't get the sinkhole collapses like they get in Florida where it covers the whole city block."
Tennessean.com
www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051130/COUNTY08/511300417/1006/NEWS