Sinkholes happen fairly often in Florida. But rarely do they occur with such drama.
A 36-year-old man is presumed dead after a sinkhole suddenly opened beneath his bedroom Thursday night. The victim's brother says the crash of the collapse sounded like a car driving through the house.
The sinkhole in suburban Tampa was originally reported to be 100 feet (30 meters) across. An engineer says that is actually the diameter of the safety zone, while the sinkhole is about 20 to 30 feet across.
Sinkholes can suddenly happen when bedrock dissolves but the surface stays intact. The void eventually collapses.
Authorities in Florida currently believe this one happened naturally, meaning the rock was probably eroded away by groundwater. Sometimes manmade situations, such as water main breaks, can be responsible.
China's capital has adopted emergency response measures to deal with record smog.
People in Beijing say the air tastes like coal dust and car fumes.
According to state media, the city will remain covered in gray until Wednesday, when the wind will sweep in to the rescue and blow the smog away.
As of 2 pm EDT, Hurricane Sandy packed 145 kph (90 mph) winds. At the time, 23 states had issued a Warning or Advisory for wind related to Sandy’s circulation.
The storm is expected to make landfall later Monday evening.
Based on pressure, Sandy is likely to be the strongest storm to make landfall north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
When it hits, Sandy will be undergoing a transition from a "tropical cyclone" to a "wintertime cyclone." Mari Ramos explains the difference.
Sandy’s field of tropical storm-force or greater winds extends nearly 620 1,600 kilometers (1000 miles). That's roughly twice the size of the U.S. state of Texas.
To put it another way, if that wind field were a country, it would be the 20th largest country in the world.
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