Sinkhole appeared in Taipei, Taiwan, next to construction site

A sinkhole appeared next to a construction site in Taipei, Taiwan, around 2.50 p.m. on Saturday, May 13.

According to the Taipei City government, the sinkhole measured 15 meters in length and 3 meters in width and depth, while it kept growing until about 5.22 p.m. on the same day.

16 nearby households were evacuated from the incident, but most of the residents gradually began returning home between Saturday evening and Sunday. The sinkhole has been filled with concrete, but it was reported that 10 residents of 5 households remain evacuated until further notice.

The site was inspected by Wang Yu-fen, chief of the city’s Department of Urban Development, along with the Xinyi District chief Chen Kuan-lingf, Taipei Professional Civil Engineers’ Association director Chuang Chun-wei, and Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hua.

Wang stated that the area will be checked with ground penetrating radar (GPR) for the identification of possible underground holes, or layers of soft soil. In addition to this, surrounding buildings will have to be inspected for tilt and structural damage before the remaining residents can return home. These processes are expected to last one to two weeks.

As for the reasons behind the sinkhole’s appearance, Chuang said that during the construction of a diaphragm wall on the adjacent construction site, mud ran into the wall’s concrete and created a leak point, which allowed water to pour in.

Finally, safety inspections were ordered at the city’s 102 construction sites that include excavation works.