Sinkholes force traffic detours north of Charlotte ahead of more rain, flash flood watch
A sinkhole near Lake Norman shut down roads Tuesday, Cornelius Police said.
Officers and the Cornelius Public Works Department started tending to a 2-foot sinkhole near West Catawba Avenue at the intersection of Rosalyn Glen Road and Chandlers Landing Drive at about 9 a.m., according to public information officer Kristin Prescott.
While sinkholes are historically rare in the Carolinas, Cornelius’ was at least the third in the Charlotte area this month.
Sinkholes near Charlotte, Kannapolis
About 20 miles east, another sinkhole was expected to shut down Kannapolis roads for more than 24 hours. The inside lane of Dale Earnhardt Boulevard near South Main Street closed Monday afternoon and was not expected to reopen until Tuesday at about 4:30 p.m., according to North Carolina’s Department of Transportation.
Another sinkhole, which stretched about a yard in each direction, closed part of Northlake Mall Drive ahead of rush-hour traffic earlier this month, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced. The closure began near the Firestone Auto Care Center and Red Robin.
Floods and sinkholes
Sinkholes are most common in states like Florida and Tennessee, which sit above limestone, salt beds and other rocks naturally dissolved by groundwater, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. When rain sits atop land without surface drainage, the water seeps below, taking some of the bedrock with it. Caverns develop under the surface until they one day become too large and the land above collapses.
About 30 people were rescued out of flooded low-lying areas in north Kannapolis Tuesday afternoon, according to a city spokeswoman. A flood watch has been issued for the Charlotte area through Thursday evening, and heavy rainfall is projected through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
This story was originally published June 20, 2023 at 12:05 PM.
