Yahoo News Merthyr sinkhole update as new dam built and 24-hour security guards in place
Merthyr Tydfil council has issued an update on repairs to a huge sink-hole that appeared on a cul-de-sac in the Pant area of the town, forcing properties to be evacuated immediately. The council previously said that the huge 50ft sinkhole that opened up in Nant Morlais on Sunday, December 1, was likely caused by the collapse of a culvert caused by Storm Bert six days earlier.
A total of 29 homes were evacuated on Sunday after the hole in the ground, which first appeared on Saturday, continued to grow. By Sunday morning residents estimated its depth at 40-50ft.One resident said you could hear very large falls of debris into what sounded like a fast-flowing stream. Water and electrical wires can be seen in the sinkhole with reports that it has emerged after a culvert – a structure that allows water to flow under roads and railways – had collapsed. See more pictures here
Now, in a further update the council have outlined their emergency repair plans - including forming a dam, 24-hour security guards and when residents can expect to return home. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter
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They said that engineers are continuing to work on a solution to stabilising the hole as "quickly as possible" and detailed emergency works that have been taking place since the major incident on Sunday. These include forming a dam on Nant Morlais stream so pumps can be installed to over-pump the water and stop it flowing through the culver and continuing with drone inspections of the culvert.
They said that engineers had been doing ground penetration radar surveys to identify further voids and dropping the water level of the New Pond reservoir to stop over-flow water going into the culvert. The council said that security guards are now onsite 24 hours a day to keep the estate secure. They also added that it is hoped some residents will be able to return home this week.
Adding to this detail of the work the council said that: "Our aim is to have properties at the lower end of the Cul-de-sac back home by the end of this week. We are working with Welsh Water on getting the supply of water back to those properties.
"In respect of the rest of the estate, we are working with the utility companies to provide temporary re-connections to the remaining properties. Again, safety is our main priority."
On Monday, the council confirmed that there were concerns that the hole was continuing to expand. Council leader Brent Carter said initial rumblings indicating the collapse had been heard by residents who believed it to be thunder.
He said: “Our priority today is to stop the flow of water going into the culvert so that our engineers can do interim stabilisation works to stop it expanding further. We can then carry out a safe inspection.
“The sinkhole has resulted from the sheer volume of material that was washed down from the mountain during Storm Bert. At around 6am on Sunday, November 24, three separate households from Nant Morlais heard rumblings and bangs, which at the time they thought was thunder. However from our understanding that is when the collapse happened and it has taken six days to migrate to the surface."
