Sinkholes
Article: Curtis Lee
Editor: Grace Oh
Designer: Sarah Cho
Editor: Grace Oh
Designer: Sarah Cho
Natural disasters happen daily and occur at anytime. Thankfully, general events, such as blizzards and hurricanes, give an obvious warning, where people can prepare beforehand. However, some disasters come without warnings, for instance, sinkholes. Sinkholes lie right under people’s feet, but they are not aware of them until cracks start to form in the ground. And people sink underground before they even notice that there is an empty space below them.
In Jamsil, where construction of the Lotte Tower is under way sinkholes have been forming. The reason of the sinkholes are not fully explained, but authorities blame Lotte. Recently, Seok-Chon Lake near the construction site of Lotte Tower was having drainage problems. The water from the lake has been leaking through the big hole dug from Lotte. Scientists say that this can cause the formation of the sinkholes in Song-Pa. Recently, there has been another terrible incident where a 70 meter sinkhole developed. Scientist concluded that these sinkholes were not caused by the construction of Lotte, but by the construction of the new subway line. Because of these incidents, people are wary of many construction in progress that might cause injuries or possibly death. They have been avoiding it, but still are very concerned of the occurrence of a disaster. “Sinkholes are very dangerous disasters. It can be brought by nature, but also the big constructions that take place,” commented Jangho, a student who’s alarmed by the dangers of sinkholes. “Big constructions [sic] should be taken care with more caution, since it can give a huge impact on the environment negatively.” With Songpa undergoing considerable construction, the digging and the infrastructure of the construction sites have been the biggest cause of the sinkholes. When large-scale construction like what is taking place in Songpa the authorities should be aware of how it will affect the environment. There is no short term solution for stopping the formation of sinkholes. Until the infrastructure is more carefully done and finished, scientists will have to find a way to predict the dangers that lie under our feet. |
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