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Sinkholes, this time China, and residents are worriedSudden
Sinkhole Outbreak Raises Fear in China
Chinese workers inspect a sinkhole in a street in
Beijing on Feb. 8.
Sinkholes are known geological phenomena that
usually occur pre-
dominantly in areas that have been heavily mined
or on reclaimed
land. (AFP/Getty Images)
A sinkhole occurred on June 4 on a freeway in China's
Zhejiang Province.
(Photographer name withheld by request)
While
the Guatemalans are wondering if the giant sinkhole formed on June 1 in
their capital city is an isolated case, on the other side of the globe,
the Chinese have discovered at least eight sinkholes that suddenly
formed in the past two weeks across their country, and many more have
appeared during the past two months.
The latest known sinkhole
formed at 12:25 a.m. Beijing time on June 4, in the middle of a freeway
in Zhejiang Province on the nation’s eastern coast. The sinkhole
measured 20 feet deep and 27 feet wide.
The hole occurred when a
light truck drove over the spot. The truck rolled over when its rear
wheels were caught at the edge of the hole. The slightly injured driver
climbed out and stopped traffic when he saw the giant hole. Police
arrived within 10 minutes and blocked the road.
A spokesperson
for the local freeway management office said experts on site suspected
that the sudden collapse of an underground karst cave created by eroded
limestone caused the sinkhole, but the investigation is ongoing.
Later
the same day, about 300 miles west in Nanchang City, capital Jiangxi
Province, a moving car was trapped when a hole about the size of the car
suddenly opened up on a main road.
On June 3, four huge
sinkholes opened up in Guangxi Province where a torrential storm was
raging. According to Chinese state media reports, more than 600
villagers had to be evacuated because of them.
Three smaller
holes were found between May 27 and May 30 in southwestern Sichuan
Province, less than 80 miles from the Wenchuan epicenter of the deadly
May 2008 Sichuan earthquake that killed approximately 80,000 people.
In
Yibin City about 260 miles from the earthquake’s epicenter, 26 larger
sinkholes have formed since April 27.
Prelude to
Disaster?The outbreak of sinkholes has struck fear in
Chinese people. Though reports in official media always quote “experts”
that conclude such holes are not warning signs of another major
earthquake, people have little trust in such comments.
Online
bloggers posted footage of similar alleged expert reassurances aired on
local TV news channels shortly before the Sichuan earthquake. They are
criticizing such assertions as no more than authorities’ tricks to
maintain so-called social stability.
“What I hate most of the
‘experts’ on TV who confidently promise everything is OK,” wrote one
blogger. “They’re saying this only because the government told them to.”
Many other bloggers joked that when the media start to refute
earthquake rumors, it is time to pack up and leave because an earthquake
is surely around the corner.
Having little trust in the
regime's official reports, Chinese are now increasingly wary of
abnormalities such as the appearance of large herds of toads or snakes,
or clouds of unusual colors or shapes, and pay serious attention to any
disaster warnings on blog sites.
Sinking government credibility
and all too fresh memories of a series of recent disasters are causing
Chinese society to become easily agitated. This February, the mere rumor
of an earthquake scared tens of thousands of citizens in Taiyuan City
in Shanxi Province out of their homes and into the streets to spend the
night.
Read the original Chinese article (more images at link)
http://epochtimes.com/gb/10/6/5/n2929205.htm 
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