THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
Sinkholes have been in the news most recently. We watched one take the life of a man while he was sleeping in his bed in Florida. Generally you will find most sinkholes happen in the southern states and Texas. But did you know, Pennsylvania is among the top 7 most at risk for this type of ground subsidence?
Sinkholes happen because of the geology of the land. According to William White, Penn State University emeritus professor of geochemistry, “Pennsylvania has a considerable area of the state underlain by limestone, and sinkholes are almost always associated with limestone terrain.”
According to the Allegheny Front, it is the porous rock layers of limestone, gypsum, salt bed, and domes – are susceptible to sinkholes is because the acidity in groundwater can dissolve them, forming empty spaces and even caverns below the surface. Lake of drainage is key to the sinkhole formula, and liquid has nowhere else to go expect through the rocks.
According to Professor White (from an article by the Allegheny Front), the riskiest areas for sinkholes in Pennsylvania include the limestone valleys through central PA – around State College and from the Maryland line up through Harrisburg and east to Allentown and Lancaster. Not always is it that Mother Nature is at threat, it is also man-made from the coal mine caverns in the Erie, Pittsburgh and Indiana areas.
For more information on this topic or to make sure you have this optional coverage endorsement on you PA Homeowner Policy contact The Weimer Group today! We are here to help. Harleysville Office: 215-723-9805 and Perkasie Office: 215-257-9171.
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