Sinkhole Swallows Tree: Video Goes Viral as 24 Acre Louisiana Sinkhole Forces Entire Town to Evacuate (PHOTO)
A sinkhole has swallowed a tree in Louisiana, with a video capturing the incident going viral on the Internet.
The Bayou Corne has left the local community on edge and has forced authorities in the region to evacuate the entire town as the sinkhole continues to expand and threaten residents.
The sinkhole has been getting bigger and footage has emerged of it swallowing up large chunks of land, and in the latest video a tree was consumed in seconds.
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The sinkhole in question in fact first emerged last August and has continued to expand through the last year. At the time it was first found it covered an area of swampland in Assumption Parish.
However, the sinkhole has since expanded to more than 24 acres, swallowing up everything in its path and has since seen 350 neighboring residents evacuated from their homes as fears grow that their homes are in danger.
OEP Director John Boudreaux said: "The sinkhole continues to be active and grow."
Some have rumored that the huge sinkhole was probably created due to the petrochemical company Texas Brine. The company reportedly attempted to build a salt cavern in Assumption Parish, but some believe their work sparked the collapse of land, creating a massive sinkhole.
Mother Jones writes: "What happened in Bayou Corne, as near as anyone can tell, is that one of the salt caverns Texas Brine hollowed out—a mine dubbed Oxy3—collapsed. The sinkhole initially spanned about an acre. Today it covers more than 24 acres and is an estimated 750 feet deep. It subsists on a diet of swamp life and cypress trees, which it occasionally swallows whole."
A video of the Bayou Corne sinkhole posted on the Assumption Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness blog can be seen below:
