Sinkhole neighbours seek answers
People living near a Hants County home being swallowed by a large sinkhole say they are feeling jittery as they await answers on why the ground opened up — and whether other houses might be at risk.
Debby Rose said about 40 people gathered at her home in Falmouth on Wednesday evening to share information about the dramatic incident Sunday that saw her neighbour’s large brick home sink into the ground.
“The consensus was the same all around the room — it’s just the fear of the unknown for all of us and how it will affect us going forward,’’ she said Thursday.
“There were a lot of people who had questions and concerns who were trying to get answers on their own and were getting nowhere. We are all in this together.’’
Rose, who lives right beside the sinking house, said a municipal official who attended the informal meeting assured the residents they will be given the results of a report being done on the site by a geotechnical engineer.
Rose said there has been a lot of speculation as to what caused the home, owned by Sydney native Chris Strickey, to plunge into the hole, leaving residents uneasy as to whether their properties could be vulnerable as well.
“It could be a man-made cause by lack of proper drainage, or roof water going below slab, or it may have to do with the way it was constructed,’’ she said. “There’s all kinds of things it could have been and really none of us know for sure.’’
Municipal authorities in the district of West Hants have said they were assured the sinkhole was an isolated natural event limited to the one property.
But, Rose said people also want to know if the relatively new residential area was known to be prone to sinkholes and, if so, why it was approved for development.
Early Sunday, Chris Strickey’s wife Heather Strickey said she awoke to a loud clamour and found the first floor of the house had virtually collapsed into a gaping hole, estimated to be up to nine metres deep.
She said Thursday she expects to meet with municipal officials and her insurance company in the coming days to find out whether the loss is covered and what will happen to the twostorey house, roughly 70 kilometres outside Halifax.