Sinkhole emerges in Taiwan with sudden 'boom', damaging 2 motorbikes & water pipes

A sinkhole emerged on a pavement in Douliu, Taiwan on Aug. 31, 2024, according to China Times.

The pavement in front of a housing agency on Wenhua Road, Douliu City collapsed with a sudden "boom" into a 7m-long, 4m-wide, 1.5m-deep sinkhole.

Passers-by near the site, including agents working at the housing agency, customers at a breakfast shop opposite the road, and people at a nearby clinic heard the "boom" and were "shocked":

Fortunately, no one was on the pavement at the time.

However, two motorcycles which were parked on the spot fell into the hole and were damaged.

Falling cement pipes also damaged water pipes at the site.

China Times reported that the site was a farmland water conservancy ditch with two layers of cement covering it, and that the structure of the pavement is quite old. 

A safety cordon and other warning features were set up around the site by the Douliu City Office.

Not the first time

This is not the first time sinkholes have appeared in Taiwan.

Back in February 2024, a section of a road in Taipei's Songshan district sank, tilting 4 cars.

In September 2023, a sinkhole appeared in the middle of the night in Taipei's Nanjing West Road.

In August 2023, reports emerged of three different sinkholes appearing over a single weekend in Taipei, raising concerns about road safety in Taipei.

The sinkhole on Aug. 31, 2024, also follows a spate of sinkhole appearances around the world.

On Aug. 23, 2024, a 48-year-old Indian woman fell into a sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur.

The search for her body was called off after 9 nine days, due to safety concerns:

On Aug. 29, a sinkhole appeared in the middle of a road in Seoul, causing a car to fall in, and leaving two seniors seriously injured:

Top photo from China Times.