Is Japan's Fukuoka Sinkhole Sinking Again?

The Japanese government earned praises for fixing a massive sinkhole in just two days. But the drama isn't over yet as the Fukuoka sinkhole re-appeared weeks after it was fixed.

A sinkhole swallowed a five-lane street in Fukuoka, Japan last Nov. 8. The incident caused major traffic disruption and resident relocation. The sinkhole was attributed to an underground construction work, taking place near the busy street.

Authorities promptly renovated the streets in less than a week - two days to be exact. This abrupt solution earned the respect of residents worldwide. However, in less than a month, the sinkhole reappeared on the same spot.

There were 2,000 truckloads of soil mixed with cement dumped to fix the sinkhole, according to a report by IB Times. But on Nov. 26, authorities noticed that the road sunk by almost seven centimeters causing alarm over the safety of residents and driver/commuters using the roads.

Some signs of collapse manifested early on Saturday Nov. 26. The signs of sinking again showed early on Saturday, Nov. 26. Due to the fear of further sinking, the police cordoned off the area disrupting the traffic and business flow in the area. Official say the almost 30 square meter are suffered from a 7 cm collapse.

But after careful investigation, the authorities say the road will no longer sink further, therefore, the roads were opened to the public again at about 5:30 am, according to a report. The re-opening of the roads was done after careful investigation and after it was established that no life will be endangered by the resurfacing sinkhole.

Residents are hopeful that no further damage to the streets will manifest so they can live a normal life without fear of disruption, at the least and a giant sinkhole appearing in the middle of a busy street.

The 15-meter deep sinkhole that appeared on Nov. 8 caused power outages that affected almost 800 households, according to a report. But the recent incident last Saturday did not cause any power outages and other inconvenience aside from the minor road closure to give way to the inspection team to see if the roads are fit to be used.

Meanwhile, in London, a sinkhole also appeared where a broken water pipe main was located. The sinkhole caused major flooding and swallowed part of a bus. Passengers had to be rescued and streets were closed due to the sinkhole.