Huge Texas Sinkhole That's Been Stable for 15 Years Is Growing Again, Residents Fear Being 'Swallowed Up'
Officials in the town of Daisetta said they were made aware over the weekend that the sinkhole has expanded
An enormous sinkhole, previously believed to be stable, is expanding again, according to Texas officials.
Officials in the Liberty County town of Daisetta, located between Beaumont and Houston, said in a statement that they were "made aware" on Sunday that the sinkhole had expanded.
The sinkhole was first detected in 2008, according to ABC outlet KTRK-TV. It started as a 20-foot gap in the ground before morphing into a gigantic hole that was around 260 feet deep and 900 feet wide, the outlet reported. And it's previously swallowed a number of large objects including cars, telephone poles, oil tanks, per MySanAntonio.com.
Liberty County Assistant Fire Marshal Erskin Holcomb estimated that it's already grown 150 feet in width and depth, reported KTRK-TV.
In their statement, town officials warned residents about the potential danger and said they had alerted the offices of the Liberty County Judge, the Liberty County Fire Marshall, and the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
Daisetta residents are urged to stay away from the sinkhole as it continues to expand, posing a threat to humans, animals, and personal property.
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The town sits atop a salt dome, and as the United States Geological Survey notes, sinkholes typically occur in locations where the bedrock beneath the ground's surface is made of "carbonate rock, limestone, salt beds, or rocks."
"As the rock dissolves, spaces and caverns develop underground," according to a page on the government agency's website. United States Geological Survey's website.
KTRK-TV reported that an overhead view on Monday revealed "visible cracks in the earth" with "some tanks, buildings, and other structures [appearing] to be leaning and sliding into the water."
Linda Hoover, who lives beside the crater, told the outlet she bought her house just a few years ago with "the understanding that [the hole] was stabilized." Another nearby resident, Jordan Priessler, added, "I was having a lot of trouble going to sleep last night because I didn't know if we were going to get swallowed up."
Daisetta officials said that they're "closely monitoring the situation and will work with state and local authorities to provide updates to the community as the situation progresses."
As of Monday evening, evacuations were not yet ordered for the area.
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