The reports are becoming almost commonplace.
As soon as there is a heavy downpour of rain, a hole opens on somebody’s property. People become scared as they remember the Arch Cot, Brittons Hill cave-in and resulting tragedy.
But Canadian geologist Professor Hans Machel says the likelihood of a sinkhole appearing, for that is what those holes are called, is far more commonplace than anyone can imagine.
However, he has cautioned Barbadians against panicking.
Hans Machel, a professor at McGill University was recently in Barbados as an expert witness in the coroner’s inquest into the collapse of an apartment into a cave at Arch Cot, Brittons Hill.
Speaking to the WEEKEND NATION before he left the island, Machel said that “an astounding number” of sinkholes had been discovered on the island. The oldest is approximately 900 000 years old, he suggested.
“We have 2 830 recorded ten years ago, so let’s round it up to 3 000; divide 900 000 by 3 000 and it’s about 300 sinkholes,” he said.
In the past people did not pay attention to such issues, but since the Arch Cot tragedy Barbadians are now more alert, he said.
“Sinkholes do not form willy-nilly, randomly distributed across the landscape and through time,” the professor stressed.
“Sinkholes are most importantly, almost frequently, happening during the rainy season because everything gets inundated. The water dissolves the rock and it’s a lubricant,” he said.
He noted that it was no coincidence that the Arch Cot cave-in occurred in August when the fault lines were all saturated.
“So you will have most of the sinkhole activity in the rainy season between August and December.
But he said there was no need to panic.
“The vast majority of these sinkholes are little things,” he said. “There are little bits of sinking here; a little foxhole there; your wall might get a crack.
“Some are very gentle and minor movements that are disconcerting, but certainly no reason to panic.”
But then there are the “occasional” catastrophic occurrences and the Arch Cot cave-in was one of them.
“And this is why I am saying don’t build your house without checking if there is a cavity under it,” he emphasized.
Thinking about the cost of a ground penetrating radar survey should never be an option, especially if you are willing to spend thousands of dollars on your dream home, said Machel.
“If you are in an area of the island where there are no sink holes, I wouldn’t bother, especially if you don’t see any holes in the landscape either.
“You don’t need a ground-penetrating survey to know that there are sinkholes. If it’s perfectly flat, don’t worry; if it’s an undulating surface there are sure sinkholes somewhere,” he said with a certainty.
And what if a sink hole appears on your property?
Report it, said Machel. Go to the newspaper; Town and Country Planning, anyone who can investigate it.