Gov. Jindal Ignores Sinkhole Disaster; Activists & Scientists Demand Assistance for Traumatized Residents

Sinkhole Dec 21, 2012. LEAN
(Image by Dean Wilson)   Details   DMCA

This is the seventh article in this series about the Bayou Corne sinkhole.

BACKGROUND: In Spring of 2012, Louisiana's Corne and Grand Bayou residents noticed strange bubbling in the bayou for many weeks, and they reported smelling burnt diesel fuel and sulfur. Then suddenly a sinkhole the size of three football fields appeared on Aug. 3, swallowing scores of 100-foot tall cypress trees. The sinkhole resulted from the failure of Texas Brine Company's abandoned underground brine cavern. The Department of Natural Resources issued a Declaration of Emergency on Aug. 6, and 150 families were evacuated. 

For maps, diagrams and additional information, please see the six previous articles in this series:

Sudden Seismic Activity in Louisiana Bayou: Sinkhole Burps, Pad Cracks, Police Copter Arrives UPDATED (Jan. 19, 2013) at  click here

Bayou Sinkhole Site Update: Flammable Tap Water (Nov. 2, 2012) at click here

Alarming Sinkhole Continues to Cave In: Seismic Activity, Odors, Health Symptoms Reported (Oct. 30, 2012) at click here

Mysterious Bayou Sinkhole Continues to Cave In: Radiation, Hydrocarbons Detected (Sept. 29, 2012) at click here

NAPOLEONVILLE, LA: Although various agencies and companies claim to be doing their best to contain the problems associated with the Louisiana sinkhole that appeared on Aug. 3rd, 2012, these problems have, like the sinkhole itself, only continued to get bigger.

When the sinkhole first appeared, it was said to be the size of about 3 football fields. An American football field is about 9/10 of an acre, so the size of the original sinkhole was about 2-3/4 acres.

On Sat. Jan. 19, I asked Wilma Subra, environmental scientist and president of the Subra Company, what size the sinkhole is now. Subra responded, "It is over 8 acres with subsidence zones around the sinkhole that cause the overall impacted area to be 12 acres.  That does not count the area that caved in today. Those figures have not been released."

Sinkhole. Jan 17, 2013.
(Image by Assumption Parish Police Jury, used with permission)   Details   DMCA

Louisiana's Superdome, which  has a 13-acre footprint  and can hold 68,000 people, could almost slip into that 12-acre, impacted area of the sinkhole.  That's a sobering thought, especially for anyone who has been inside the massive sports arena.

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