1000ft sinkhole sparks terror in Texas

One resident said her worst fear is that the sinkhole will destroy her home while she and her family are asleep inside

A sinkhole in Texas, with a mouth now measuring more than 1,000 feet across, is growing again, causing fears among residents that they may have to flee.

The sinkhole first appeared around 2008 in Daisetta, a town approximately 55 miles northeast of Houston. It began as only a 20 foot hole, but it expanded and consumed everything in its path.

It remained stable for about 15 years, but appears as though it is once again growing, according to the Dallas Morning News.

The hole has reportedly gained approximately 150 feet in both width and depth since Sunday. It now is estimated to be approximately 260 feet deep.

"We just never thought it would start again," Linda Hoover, a local resident who lives near the sinkhole, told local news KTRK. "When we bought our house a few years ago, we were under the understanding that it was stabilized."

Sinkholes typically form in regions with subterranean caverns. When bedrock structures collapse, the ground above can crumble and fill in the caverns, creating a sinkhole at the surface.

The sinkhole in Daisetta is believed to be the result of the town's placement atop a salt dome, which is eroding away, according to the US Geological Survey.

Salt dome erosion can be exacerbated by fluids leaking into the minerals, according to a 2018 entry in the journal Scientific Reports. Underground fluid leaks are common in areas where the oil and gas industry operates wells and pipes.

A view of the sinkhole in Daisetta, Texas (RANDALL ORNDORFF, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY)

The USGS estimates that sinkholes have caused approximately $300m in damage costs each year in the US over the last 15 years, but noted that the estimate is likely lower due to a lack of reporting.

"My neighbor came over [Sunday] 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," another local resident, Tim Priessler, told KTRK.

Residents are afraid that they may have to leave the town if the hole continues to grow. No evacuations have been ordered as of 5 April.

"My worst fear is for it to overtake us at night,” Ms Hoover added. “So that's the reason we haven't really been able to sleep. We have packed our bags just in case and parked our cars kind of funny. So we can get out of here in a hurry if we need to.”