The story of the sinkhole that swallowed up a Florida man hits too close to home for Joan O'Day.
"That could have been us. That very well could have been us," she said.
Ms. O'Day lives in Fairview Twp. now, because her Hazle Twp. home had to be demolished five years ago because of a sinkhole caused by a mine subsidence.
Pennsylvania's geography and mining history make it one of the most sinkhole-prone states. In the southeastern and south-central parts of the state, dissolving limestone formations can cause ground depressions. In the anthracite regions, where there isn't much limestone, coal mining's legacy lives on with the danger of subsidence.
Flood damage and aging infrastructure such as water and sewer systems can also lead to sinkholes. But the No. 1 cause of sinkholes in the anthracite regions, including Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, is mine subsidence, said Colleen Connolly, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection's northeast region.
"In Northeastern Pennsylvania, every time we see a sinkhole, we think mine subsidence," she said.
Ms. Connolly estimates DEP and its sister agency, the Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation, receive at least three calls a month to look at sinkholes, ranging from tiny ones a foot deep to big ones.
Ms. O'Day remembers calling DEP in 2004 because of persistent cracks that couldn't be patched in the driveway of her Smith Drive home. At the time, DEP did a visual inspection and dismissed her concerns as caused by water from her home's drain spouts, she said.
On April 9, 2008, Ms. O'Day left for work early, at 5:45 a.m. She got a call at 8 a.m. that a mine subsidence had damaged her property.
The subsidence got worse until her house and next-door neighbor's had to be condemned.
Contact the writer: eskrapits@citizensvoice.com