(from the Express-News)San Antonio fire and police officials evacuated 20 homes in a Northwest Side neighborhood Sunday morning, when a rapidly-growing sinkhole behind three houses pushed earth down a 30-foot hill and into two retaining walls that fissured and threatened to bury residences below.
While authorities were not sure why the ground had shifted behind houses in The Hills at Rivermist, agencies acted quickly to address the endangered homes near West Hausman Road and Loop 1604.
UPDATE: They are calling it a "slope failure." Apparently a huge retaining wall has given way.
UPDATE II: The Associated Press has picked up on the story.
4 comments:
The Hills at Rivermist.
Have we simply run out of names for subdivisions?
Saw this on the news yesterday... crazy... Wonder if it could have any relation to the massive earthquake that just happened...?
I guess we'll find out eventually... stay tuned!
Kels, I think they are saying that water -- whether from a main or from a spring -- has been undermining the retaining wall. Either way, it looks like a big mess to fix, if it can be fixed.
And Dave, yes. Yes, I think we have actually run out of names for subdivisions. Or at least halfway decent names that are easy to say and sound pretty cool.
This afternoon, WOAI (the radio version) was saying that Centex had admitted they built the wall without a permit, but claimed that it was nonetheless built consistent with industry standards.
It is far too easy to by-pass permits in this city. I can't tell you the number of times my ex-husband, when he worked for Roto-Rooter, came across plumbing in brand new houses that wasn't up to code.
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