Houston is no stranger to rough weather. Over the years, the city has been battered by everything from tropical storms to hurricanes to tornadoes.
But with a recent incident involving a sinkhole nearly swallowing a local church, the question arises: Just how common ARE sinkholes in Houston?
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Houston has actually experienced a fair number of notable sinkholes over the years, many of which KPRC 2 has covered.
In July 2021, a local family complained of a sinkhole that grew to “about half the size of a sedan” and kept reappearing despite multiple efforts from the city to repair it.
Last July, two notable sinkholes opened up, one in Memorial Village and another in Northeast Houston. Both sinkholes caused significant issues for local residents.
One of the sinkholes blocked traffic for some time, while the other grew over time after multiple calls to the city to have it repaired, much like the July 2021 sinkhole.
Sinkholes can be harmful to property, cars and even animals, as we saw in May of this year when a dog and a cat were trapped in a sinkhole that opened up in the Woodlands.
In some cases, sinkholes can even be damaging to entire neighborhoods. Brownwood, a Baytown subdivision once considered “one of Houston’s most desirable neighborhoods” fell victim to sinkholes.
Brownwood’s demise was not due entirely to sinkholes, however. According to an article from Houston History magazine, the subdivision started literally sinking into the land after Hurricane Carla swept through the area in 1961.
In 1983, the situation went from bad to worse, as Hurricane Alicia pushed residents to evacuate the town. Eventually, the entire town succumbed to sinkholes, becoming little more than a distant memory as it sank into the ground it was built on.
Sinkholes can be a nuisance, to say the least. But what causes them? And is Houston more susceptible to sinkholes than other areas?
Experts say that sinkholes are common in areas with highly soluble rocks such as limestone. These rocks can be easily dissolved by groundwater, thus causing the earth to slowly collapse.
These kinds of soluble rocks are frequently found in areas known as “Karsts,” which make up cave systems. While surveys haven’t shown a particularly high amount of these areas in Houston, there are multiple other potential explanations for why so many sinkholes have been showing up lately.
For example, some scientists have proposed that large amounts of oil and gas extraction could contribute to sinkholes. One study showed that this activity caused ground surface to rise and fall during the process of injecting rainwater and pulling out crude oil.
However, in Houston’s case, the answer may be simpler: Nearly all of the sinkholes discussed above were caused due to weather-related erosion, aging city infrastructure, or a combination of both.
In terms of what Houstonians can do about sinkholes, experts say that it’s important to pay attention to any odd elevation changes in your property, as it could be the start of a bigger problem.
If you suspect there might be a sinkhole forming near you, you should call 3-1-1 immediately or submit a report at Houstontx.gov/311.