Heads Up for Sinkholes! It's a Brand New Natural Disaster...

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/25/woman-rescued-after-falling-down-sinkhole-in-melbourne-backyard

Australian Associated Press
theguardian.com, Wednesday 26 November 2014 00.47 GMT

In Melbourne, Australia on November 26^th, a 45-year-old woman was sucked into a three-metre sinkhole in her backyard while hanging out laundry. Shortly after 10 minutes, Country Fire Authority pulled her out from the hole with specialist equipment. Fortunately, there weren’t any damages to surrounding buildings. Any injuries of the woman have not been reported yet.
                                 

Personal Opinion...

Sinkhole threatens our safety as a new form of disaster. We do not know how, where, and when we will be sucked into a sinkhole. It could be while sleeping in your own bed, while driving, or while hanging out washing in the back yard of your house. This is a completely unpredictable disaster and we can't even try to avoid this ridiculous threat.

In July 2010, a 20-storey building height sinkhole appeared in the middle of Guatemala City. A three-storey building that was in place disappeared without leaving a trace. Government announced sinkholes occur due to dry out of groundwater from urban development that caused foundation ground to crumble down. Thus, sinkholes caused by human activity such as an excessive groundwater use and urban development.

Florida, United States has frequent sinkholes, so since 2010, they have already performed sinkhole ordinances. The government created a list of sinkhole signs for general public to detect and utilize in disaster prevention. Also sinkhole insurance is mandatory for houseowners.

Here is a quote by Famous writer in the United States, Mark Twain said, "It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so."

This quote perfectly matches with the sinkhole incidents. New forms of institutional mechanisms are urgently needed to protect the safety of civilians from a rising disaster, sinkhole. Now time has come to think about our most basic of life that we strive to keep. We shouldn't only look forward to enjoy pleasure and benefits from development of technology. Therefore, we should start to seek solutions for protecting safety of everyday life, I think.