Residents of a southeastern Texas town woke up Monday to find a local sinkhole expanded by 150 feet in width and depth.
The sinkhole, located in Daisetta, Texas, now measures over 1,000 feet wide and about 400 feet deep.
After years of inactivity, the hole started expanding.
“My neighbor came over and said he kept hearing popping sounds like a gunshot. We went to the backyard, and there were buildings falling in. It was like a movie. You can see cracks forming in the ground,” Daisetta resident Tim Priessler told reporters.
Aerial photos of the sinkhole show a small metal tank and the corner of a building tumbling down into the hole.
The sinkhole appeared 15 years ago as a 20-foot crater and soon grew to over 900 feet wide as it destroyed cars and terrorized the town.
Experts believe the sinkhole is caused by the erosion of a large salt deposit or salt dome on which Daisetta is built. When the salt erodes, caverns that form underneath fill in, creating a sinkhole.
Despite the rapid and dangerous growth of the sinkhole, authorities have not issued evacuation notices. According to city administrators, specialists are monitoring the situation and will provide citizens with updates.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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