When the ground gives way: Recent global sinkholes and Singapore's own close calls

There have been an alarming number of incidents involving sinkholes around the world recently, from the 8m-deep sinkhole in Malaysia that swallowed a still-missing woman on Aug 23, to the elderly couple in Seoul whose car fell into a sinkhole just yesterday (Aug 29).

Fortunately for us, Singapore hasn't had issues with sinkholes recently. However, there have been notable incidents where this phenomenon proved troublesome for us in the past.

Keppel Road commute chaos

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVTMHJLLp6M[/embed]

When: Jan 30, 2013

Where: Keppel Road

What happened?: During the morning rush hour, a sinkhole appeared near a junction along Keppel Road towards Ayer Rajah Expressway. A driver who had the misfortune to mistake the sinkhole for a puddle ended up driving his car into it, though he was thankfully unharmed. The sinkhole was estimated to be approximately 2m wide and 0.5m deep.

What caused it?: Burst water pipe.

The mysterious Clementi crater

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwhjOJFfB3w[/embed]

When: March 5 and 8, 2013

Where: Clementi Road

What happened: On March 5, 2013, a 2m-wide sinkhole appeared in the centre lane of Clementi Road towards West Coast Road, with one motorcyclist claiming that he fell into the hole and suffered minor injuries as a result.

Although the sinkhole was quickly patched, it ended up reopening a few days later on March 8, 2013. Fortunately, nobody was injured this time.

What caused it: This one is still a bit of a mystery, as there were no excavation works or water pipe leakages occurring nearby. After the sinkhole reopened, geotechnical engineers suggested that acidic water from underground streams and rivers could have dissolved rocks in the ground, causing part of the road above to sink.

Upper Changi truck trap

When: April 24, 2014

Where: Upper Changi Road East

What happened: A section of Upper Changi Road East caved in, causing a tipper truck to sink into the road, where it remained trapped for over 2 hours. Fortunately, the truck's driver was unhurt.

What caused it: The incident was thought to be linked to nearby tunnelling works for the then-upcoming Upper Changi MRT station along the Downtown Line, which were taking place at a construction site approximately 50m away.

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This article was first published in Wonderwall.sg.