Texas town watches with dread as sinkhole grows again 15 years after it first appeared

Local officials stand along the edge of a giant sinkhole as it continues to grow Wednesday, May 7, 2008 in Daisetta, Texas. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

A massive sinkhole that has terrified some in a small Texas town and captured the attention of national media continues to swell.

The sinkhole in the small southeast Texas town of Daisetta opened in 2008, swallowing oil tanks, trees, telephones poles and cars before finally stabilizing.

It appeared dormant for 15 years — until one week ago. The sinkhole is once again growing. Residents reported hearing popping noises like gunshots coming from the hole April 2.

“We went to the backyard, and there were buildings falling in,” Tim Priessler told KTRK-TV. “It was like a movie.”

A video posted by Bluebonnet News over the weekend shows buildings, tanks and other structures submerged in water. Deep fissures have formed around the edges of the hole.

So far, the sinkhole has gained roughly 150 feet in width and depth, officials estimate. In 2008, it reached anywhere from 600 to 900 feet wide and 260 feet deep, according to various estimates at the time.

No evacuations have been ordered yet, but residents said they are prepared to flee.

“We just never thought it would start again,” Linda Hoover, who lives next to the sinkhole, told the news station. “My worst fear is for it to overtake us at night.”

Houston geologist Richard Howe, who first evaluated the hole in 2008, returned to Daisetta during the weekend to conduct further studies. Working with state and local officials, Howe placed perimeters along the edges of the crater to record any movement.

It’s unclear whether the new eruption is an expansion of the 2008 sinkhole or a second collapsed chamber, Howe said. For now, he has recommended the town monitor the hole and develop a plan in case it begins to shift quickly.

“Sinkholes are unpredictable. There’s really nothing we can do to stop them,” he said. “We just monitor the ground and watch out.”

A small out building, left, trees and a truck slide into a giant sinkhole as it continues to grow Wednesday, May 7, 2008 in Daisetta, Texas. A zig-zagging hole believed to be as long as two football fields and up to 100 feet deep continued to widen late Wednesday, threatening to gobble up nearby tanks and other oilfield equipment. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

Daisetta, which is home to fewer than 1,000 residents, is built entirely on a salt dome some 55 miles northeast of Houston. Salt is particularly prone to dissolving, creating large, bowl-shaped sinkholes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Sinkholes occur when the ground below the surface can no longer support the land.

In Daisetta’s case, oil well drilling dating back to the 1920s almost certainly contributed to the sinkhole, Howe said. The sinkhole sits on the former DeLoach Oil and Gas Waste Well.

Old oilfield production maps show as many as 15 wells on the site, Howe said. During drilling, wastewater is pumped underground, which can cause salt to dissolve.

“Daisetta was originally a boomtown,” Howe said. “Wells were so closely spaced together then. On a map, it looks like a solid black ring.”

Daisetta isn’t Texas’ only sinkhole. A pair of sinkholes in West Texas called the Wink Sinks have also expanded in recent years, troubling researchers.