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Sinkholes in central Turkey raise fears among locals
Sinkholes in central Turkey raise fears among locals
Three new sinkholes have been formed in the Central Anatolian province of Konya, raising fears among the locals. Click through for the story in photos...
İhlas News Agency reported Feb. 21 that the recent wave of new sinkhole formations started last week with a 4 meter wide, 20 meter deep one in the Reşadiye neighborhood. Two more sinkholes followed it in the succeeding six days, one of them with a depth of 10 meters.
The new sinkholes are in the agricultural fields near villages. One of them, near the Yedikuyu area, is only a few meters away from a road.
The Karapınar Municapility cordoned off the new sinkholes as some locals said that they got used to such sudden collapses of earth due to the receding groundwater.
Others are more concerned. “We are in fear. We are praying. Let God help us,” a local named Akif Karakaya was quoted by the agency as saying.
More and more sinkholes have formed in Turkey’s Central Anatolian region, closing in on towns and agricultural fields.
Prof. Dr. Fetullah Arık, head of the Chamber of Geological Engineers in the Konya province, told the agency that the region received less rainfall this year.
“This is also a region where water hungry plants like corn and clover are cultivated,” he added. Coupled with high levels of wind erosion, this fact accelerates the formation of sinkholes.
In the karst topography of the region formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks, small “holes” underground merge with each other over time, paving the way for the collapse of the upper level of the soil.
“We are more concerned today because sinkholes have started to approach towns and agricultural fields as of the 2000s,” Arık said.
According to the expert, there were 300 registered sinkholes in the Karapınar district until 2017. “In 2017, nine new sinkholes were observed. In this year until today, another 11 have been added, some of them as wide as 1,000 meters and as deep as 100 meters,” he added.
In order to slow down the spread of sinkholes, Arık recommended the authorities to regulate water usage in farming to sustain underground water levels.
“Luckily, no one has died yet from the formation of new sinkholes, but there is no guarantee for the future. We are working to determine the most risky areas,” he said.
Cafer Zengin, a farmer whose field was recently spiked by a sinkhole, told the agency he had no alternative but to keep farming with what is left.
“We will either fall into it or we will manage to survive by fleeing on time. I need to harvest my crops. I just cannot leave,” Zengin said.
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