The cracks in the masonry show the damage caused by a cover-collapse sinkhole. The total damage to this home, located near Louisville, Ky., was over $40,000.

 

Serious property damage was narrowly avoided when this cover-collapse sinkhole developed near an above-ground swimming pool in a residential backyard in Boyle County.

 

This sinkhole in Warren County collapsed on February 25, 2002. It is primarily the results of cover collapse, but also partially involved the collapse of a section of cave roof. Sinkhole development involving the collapse of bedrock is extremely rare, and this is one of the very few documented cases in Kentucky. Stormwater was routed underground at three of the four corners of the road junction. The location of the sections of cave passage with unstable ceiling was known prior to construction of the road and a safe route for the road was recommended by karst experts. For reasons unknown, the roadway was nevertheless built over the unstable area. The cost for repair of the road has not yet been estimated.

 

Geologists and soil scientists examine a large cover-collapse sinkhole in Hart County near Munfordville, Ky., which opened in the summer of 1998.