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In a landscape where limestone sits underneath the soil, water from rainfall can collect in cracks in the stone. And as the limestone dissolves and is carried away, the cracks widen until the ground above becomes unstable and collapses.
Sinkholes can vary from shallow ones about 1m down to pits more than 50m deep.
In an urban context, sinkholes can have man-made causes, said Ms Sharron Ng, a council member at the Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES).
"Sinkholes (can) occur due to work activities such as over-pumping of the groundwater during underground construction work; broken pipes or sewers where leaking water can erode the soil beneath the surface; or mining activities where large voids may collapse."
In a landscape where limestone sits underneath the soil, water from rainfall can collect in cracks in the stone. And as the limestone dissolves and is carried away, the cracks widen until the ground above becomes unstable and collapses.
Sinkholes can vary from shallow ones about 1m down to pits more than 50m deep.
In an urban context, sinkholes can have man-made causes, said Ms Sharron Ng, a council member at the Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES).
"Sinkholes (can) occur due to work activities such as over-pumping of the groundwater during underground construction work; broken pipes or sewers where leaking water can erode the soil beneath the surface; or mining activities where large voids may collapse."
