A giant sinkhole in a Nova Scotia town has already swallowed several trees and boulders, and concern is growing as it inches closer to several nearby businesses.

A gas station, coffee shop, Lions Club and road are situated close to the gaping, water-filled hole in Oxford, N.S. Officials have used neon spray paint to mark new cracks in a parking lot near the hole.

By Tuesday, the sinkhole was measured at 34 metres long by 28 metres wide. It’s unclear just how deep the hole is, or when it will stop growing.

Members of the Oxford Lions Club removed play structures from the park on Monday as they appeared to lean. There are concerns that the Lions Club building might soon plummet into the growing hole.

Mike Johnson, Cumberland County’s emergency management office coordinator, said the gas station is being kept in the loop in the event that they need to “pump their tanks dry and remove any hazardous material.”

“We’re not there at this point,” he said.

Officials are exploring ways to measure the sinkhole’s growth and trajectory, including high-precision surveying to monitor changes in elevation. Radar technology capable of penetrating the ground is also on the table.

Locals are flocking to the site to get a glimpse of the unusual phenomenon. Security has been hired around the clock to make sure onlookers don’t get too close.

Linda Cloney, deputy clerk for Oxford County, said safety measures have been taken to protect workers who need to access off-limits areas.

“Everyone is going in with a pair if they’re going around to look everything over. And also we have our personal flotation devices set up there by the tree there to throw in if we need to,” Cloney told CTV Atlantic.

A sinkhole is formed when water dissolves underground rock or minerals, thereby carving deep fissures underground. In Nova Scotia, about 85 per cent of sinkholes involve gypsum, a soft sulfate mineral, according to Robert Ryan, Nova Scotia manager of mineral resource evaluation.

Because the sinkhole is so deep, Ryan says attempts to fill it would be futile.

“You could put material in there but chances are it’ll end up down in the river,” Ryan said.

Besides gypsum, limestone and salt have also been linked to sinkholes in Nova Scotia. There’s no way to know for sure when a sinkhole could form, but understanding the makeup of bedrock is a helpful precaution, says Ian Spooner, a professor with Acadia University’s Department of Earth and Environmental Science.

“There’s excellent maps in Nova Scotia and we know the rock type in which sinkholes form most commonly. We know where those rocks are,” Spooner said.

With a report from CTV Atlantic’s Bruce Frisko and Jonathan MacInnis

Oxford sink hole

Large fall on Sunday the 26th. Cumberland EMO has been working with a number of agencies, the Town of Oxford, and the Oxford Area Lions Club in responding to the sink hole. There are a number of key messages we would like to get out to the public to ensure their safety. First, we need the public to stay away from the area of the park as the ground around the hole is unstable and the attached video illustrates just how dangerous it is. Secondly, due to the increased vehicle and pedestrian traffic, there have been a number of accidents in front of the park. We ask that drivers and pedestrians alike take special care when travelling through the area. Thirdly, the Town of Oxford and the Oxford Area Lions Club would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding as we deal with these unfolding events.

Posted by Cumberland Regional Emergency Management on Tuesday, 28 August 2018