16 giant sinkholes open up in one Turkish region within months

By James On Sep 29, 2022

Sixteen giant sinkholes have formed in a Turkish region within months after a drought caused the limestone to collapse.

Images show the huge holes in a field in the Konya Valley that formed in the first nine months of this year.

Sinkholes are cavities in the ground with no natural drainage from the external surface. When it rains, all the water stays inside and usually flows to the subsoil.

The craters are most common in “karst terrain” where rock below the land surface is naturally dissolved by the groundwater circulating through them.

Images show the huge holes in a field in the Konya Valley, pictured. Sinkholes are cavities in the ground with no natural drainage from the external surface. When it rains, all the water stays in the sinkhole and is usually drained to the subsoil

An expert, Fetullah Arık of Konya University of Technology (KTÜN), has said there are now more than 2,600 sinkholes on the Konya Plain, pictured, and warned of the uncontrolled use of groundwater

Rocks that are soluble include salt beds and domes, gypsum, limestone and other carbonate rocks.

An expert, Fetullah Arık of Konya University of Technology (KTÜN), has said there are now more than 2,600 sinkholes in the Konya Plain and warned against uncontrolled groundwater use.

The number of sinkholes is increasing every day in Cihanbeyli, Yunak, Kulu, Sarayönü and Kadınhanı districts.

These are being investigated by experts from the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) and KTÜN.

According to studies, sinkholes are now moving to places such as agricultural areas, residential areas and energy investment areas, all of which carry more risk.

Speak with Hurriyet Daily NewsProfessor Arık said: ‘Despite the heavy snowfall last year, there was no major increase in groundwater.’

The number of sinkholes is increasing every day in Cihanbeyli, Yunak, Kulu, Sarayönü and Kadınhanı districts. These are being investigated by experts from the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) and KTÜN. Pictured: a sinkhole in the field

KONYA: A sinkhole in Turkey. According to studies, sinkholes are now moving to places such as agricultural areas, residential areas and energy investment areas, all of which carry more risks

Mr Arık explained that the soil structure is soluble when it comes into contact with water and covers a large area in the whole basin.

The expert added that the sinkholes will still occur even if we don’t intervene.

Humans use groundwater in an intense and uncontrolled way to produce plants that consume a lot of water.

These include sugar beet, maize and alfalfa and the initiatives for the cultivation of these have become increasingly larger.

The low groundwater level negatively affects sinkholes and increases their number because there are no external currents flowing into the basin.

Farmer Kadir Gümüşsoy said the sinkholes are terrifying and that he carries out agricultural production with an underground water source in the region. Mr Gümüşsoy told Agenda: “We are coming to the field anxiously because we don’t know when it will happen. There is no water source in the closed basin. The groundwater is also decreasing’. Pictured: A sinkhole in Konya

Humans use groundwater in an intense and uncontrolled way to produce plants that consume a lot of water. These include sugar beet, maize and alfalfa and the initiatives for the cultivation of these have become increasingly larger. Pictured: An aerial view of a sinkhole in the Konya Valley

Farmer Kadir Gümüşsoy said the sinkholes are terrifying and that he carries out agricultural production with an underground water source in the region.

Mr Gümüşsoy told agenda: ‘We come to the field anxious because we don’t know when it’s going to happen. There is no water source in the closed basin. The groundwater is also declining.

‘This year the water has been drained 8 meters into the well. We would like to use incentives to grow plants that use less water.’

Mr Arık said the most effective measure to tackle sinkholes is to control how much groundwater is used, because we cannot control the geological conditions of nature.

He called the situation a “climate disaster” and said the demand for water is very high.

Mr Arık said the most effective measure to tackle sinkholes, as pictured, is to control how much groundwater is used, as we cannot control nature’s geological conditions

He called the situation a “climate disaster” and said the demand for water is very high. Pictured: A close-up of a sinkhole

It comes as sinkholes continue to pose a risk to people across Turkey with footage filmed Feb. 4 in Istanbul’s Kadokoy neighborhood of a man named Omer Kacagan falling into a crash.

As he walked towards two vending machines, the ground caved in and he plunged into the hole along with one of the vending machines.

Despite saying one of the vending machines fell on him, Kacagan said he suffered only minor injuries and was rescued by firefighters within 25 minutes.

Kacagan explained that he was on the phone during a quiet moment in the store and said he fell about 20 feet.

Shopkeeper Omer Kacagan was on the phone outside his shop in Kadokoy in the northwestern Turkish city of Istanbul when the ground gave way

Amazingly, Omer Kacagan was unharmed despite falling 20 feet into the sink

He told local media: “I was on the phone for my company because there were no customers.

‘Suddenly the ground I stepped on collapsed under my feet. I fell about six meters.

‘Meanwhile, a vending machine has fallen on me. Fellow shopkeepers and bystanders reported the incident to the appropriate authorities and I was rescued by firefighters about 25 minutes later.”

What are sinkholes and how do they form?

Sinkholes are common where the bedrock below the land surface is limestone, carbonate rock, salt beds, or rocks that can be naturally dissolved by groundwater circulating through them.

As the rock dissolves, spaces and caves develop underground. Sinkholes are dramatic because the land usually stays intact for a while until the underground spaces just get too big. If there is not enough support for the land above the spaces, a sudden collapse of the land surface can occur. These collapses can be small, or, as this image shows, or they can be huge and can occur where a house or road is on top.

A sinkhole is a piece of land that has no natural drainage from the external surface – when it rains, the water stays in the sinkhole and usually drains into the subsoil. Sinkholes can range from a few feet to hundreds of acres and from less than 1 to over 30 feet deep. Some are shaped like shallow bowls or saucers, while others have vertical walls; some hold water and form natural ponds.

Usually sinkholes form so slowly that little change is noticeable, but they can form suddenly when a collapse occurs. Such a collapse can have a dramatic effect if it occurs in an urban environment.

The map below shows areas of the United States where certain rock types are prone to dissolution in water. In these areas, the formation of subterranean cavities can form and catastrophic sinkholes can occur. These rocks are evaporites (salt, gypsum and anhydrite) and carbonates (limestone and dolomite). Evaporative rocks underlie about 35 to 40 percent of the United States, although they are buried at great depths in many areas.

Source: American Geological Survey