 KAMPAR: Some 20 sinkholes, the biggest measuring more than 25m in
diameter, have appeared at a coconut and jackfruit orchard at Kg Kebui, Kuala
Dipang, near here.
Fifteen of the sinkholes turned up on Tuesday while five appeared yesterday.
Water can be seen in the sinkholes but it is difficult to determine their
actual depth.
From the water surface to ground level, the depth is estimated to be five
metres.
State Mineral and Geoscience Department Geologist Mat Niza Abdul Rahman, who
visited the site with two officers yesterday, did not rule out the possibility
that the sinkholes were caused by the effects of the tsunami which hit Penang
and the northern coastal areas of the country.
“It may have been caused by the impact of the tsunami as it had not rained here
recently. It is, however, too early to tell. We will need at least two weeks to
find out the actual cause,” Mat Niza said.
He also said the sinkholes could have occurred due to the earth movement
caused by an underground stream.
“This place may have been a dumpsite at one time and now, after many years,
the waste which had not decayed properly, like wood, may be starting to settle
and this caused the earth movement,” he said.
Orchard caretaker Jaswant Singh, 32, said he first noticed the sinkholes
after reaching the orchard at 7am on Tuesday.
“I noticed several small sinkholes near the road. However, as I walked
further, I was shocked to see huge ones and all the trees were gone,” he said.
Meanwhile, cracks measuring at least 2.5cm wide and one-metre-long appeared
on the kitchen and bathroom walls of a state Minerals and Geoscience Department
employee in Jalan Sebarau, Kg Sungai Tapah, Manjoi in Ipoh on Tuesday.
Some 20m of the road next to his house “sank” a metre deep.
Abdul Aziz Mohd Alwi, 54, said he had just returned home from Teluk Intan at
about 8pm when a neighbour told him that the road at the side of his house had
sunk.
“With my neighbours’ help, I moved all my belongings to the front portion of
my house,” he said.
About 500m away, a family of four were advised to move when cracks appeared
in the kitchen and bathroom of their house yesterday. source: The Star, 30-12-2004
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