GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Land subsidence is a gradual settling or sudden sinking of the Earth’s surface owing to subsurface movement of earth materials. The principal causes of land subsidence are aquifer-system compaction, drainage of organic soils, underground mining, hydrocompaction, natural compaction, sinkholes, and thawing permafrost.

Detailed explanation-2: -A sinkhole collapse is a sudden sinking or collapse of land into underground empty spaces created by the action of water on limestone or similar rock formations.

Detailed explanation-3: -Sinkholes are formed when the land surface above collapses or sinks into the cavities or when surface material is carried downward into the voids. Drought, along with resulting high groundwater withdrawals, can make conditions favorable for sinkholes to form.

Detailed explanation-4: -Sinkholes are all about water. Lowering of groundwater levels can cause a loss of support for the soft material in the rock spaces that can lead to collapse.

Detailed explanation-5: -Sometimes, a sinkhole may seem to have appeared overnight; however, many of them evolve over hundreds or even thousands of years. They develop long before any surface evidence is visible. Essentially, sinkholes are what people see on the ground surface due to a hole in the rock below.