Massive sinkhole threatens to swallow a West Virginia police department as it continues to expand
HINTON, WEST VIRGINIA: In a freak social media post by the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT), a police station is under severe threat of going "underground." That’s right, a massive sinkhole has opened up in the parking lot over a water drainage problem that is increasing in size and has affected the Hinton Police Department. The post was uploaded on Facebook on Wednesday, November 16, however, the hole was first seen in June 2021 above a failing water drain.
According to WVNS, the sinkhole was quite smaller in size, six feet wide and 30 feet deep. However, it continued to expand, which led to officials calling a meeting to get the sinkhole fixed in July. A clerk with the Hinton Police Department shared with the New York Post on Friday afternoon, November 18, that the entire department had no choice but to relocate the entire team "a few months ago" as it spread further. The situation was made worse by heavy rainfalls from Hurricane Nicole, which made nearby schoolgoers take classes remotely on Monday, November 13.
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“The rain we received over the weekend enlarged the hole drastically. This is a very serious matter and is being treated as such by DOH, the city, and the school system. School buses travel this road each day carrying our most precious resource. We must do everything possible to protect their safety,” said Senator Stephen Baldwin, in a Facebook post.
The WVDOT has now confirmed that a temporary 125-foot bridge will be installed at the affected site, “It will be a fast process — our guys will work as long as they have to each day,” said Joe Pack. Pack, a deputy state highway engineer also said during the press conference, “It is our goal to make this as quick and painless as possible, so that everyone can then drive across a structure they feel is safe and they have no more concerns or worries. [The repair] will cost around $5 million. The state will pay for it.”
There were reports on the uptick in sinkholes in New York City earlier too, which according to officials was part of the rise in global warming, “I think what’s playing out is how the climate crisis is hitting the city in ways that we might not have even considered,” vice president of energy and environment for the Regional Plan Association Robert Freudenberg commented back then.