Many people are joking about the sinkhole appeared in the north lawn of the White House. It was further reported that the actual position of the sinkhole was near the office of deputy press secretary. Many journalists noted that the sinkhole was expanding day by day.
The grounds of the White House are supervised by The National Park Service. And the company has told that they are examining the situation and planning to bring in experts to sort out the problem. While discussing this situation, the spokesman of National Park Service, Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles, told that such situations are normal after a heavy rain in areas like Washington. She further told that White House officials should not be worried about the sinkhole as it does not pose any risk to them.
So who’s is to blame for this sinkhole? Yes, obviously rain. According to the meteorologist of AccuWeather Bob Larson, Washington has faced 9 rainy days in last 2 weeks. Tuesday afternoon, Larson said that the city has faced 6.15 inches of rain in May and average of total rain in the city is 3.99 inches.
Sometimes, the sinkholes occur due to human activities but mostly caused by extreme rain. A sinkhole was first noticed on Saturday following a week of heavy rain. As the sinkhole was behind the iron fence, therefore it was inaccessible for the pedestrians. Later the hole was surrounded with two cons and a yellow tape.
The National Park Service officials covered the hole with a wood sheet on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the thunderstorm. According to Terry West, a professor of planetary sciences and civil engineering at Purdue University, the geology of the White House is not bestowed to sinkholes itself. In most cases, sinkholes occur due to cavities in the underground but the geology of the grounds in White House is not that type at all. The grounds of White House are made of sandy clay material and such surfaces are called Coastal Plain, added Terry.
According to Terry, the sinkhole resulted from the repetitive constructions on the lawn. It was further reported that during the reign of Obama, the lawn was kept under construction. Terry said that according to his guess, the sinkhole appeared due to an underground collapse. The main cause could be a construction debris which was not compacted completely during the construction. And now that waste is filling up the soil underneath, Terry explained. But it looks like that the sinkhole appeared due to man-made activities rather than natural activities, said Terry West.
Another reason for the sinkhole could be a leaky pipe that caused abrasion, Terry added. As there is an in-ground irrigation system in the lawns of White House, it is highly unlikely that the sinkhole will expand further and it can easily be filled with the cement. As confirmed by the groundskeepers, the hole appeared outside the office of Hogan Gidley, White House deputy press secretary. Many reporters reported that the hole was growing slowly. Social media took the whole incident as a joke as many people tweeted hilariously about the hole. People resembled the hole with “drain the swamp” slogan of the president.
The soggy weather in Washington is looking like the culprit. In a tweet, made by the reporter of Voice of America, Steve Herman, he said that he was the first to notice the pit. The hole has grown since and another has opened next to it.
This week I’ve been observing a sinkhole on the @WhiteHouse North Lawn, just outside the press briefing room, growing larger by the day. pic.twitter.com/BsFUtxFqpB
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) May 22, 2018
Sinkholes appear when the rainwater is absorbed by the soil and then loosens the sediment. However, there is a history of the sinkholes and president Trump. Back in 2017, a sinkhole appeared in front of Palm Beach, Fla of president Trump. 4 feet by 4 feet sinkhole appeared in front of Mar-a-Lago. That palm beach hole was much bigger than this White House lawn hole. However, the palm beach officials then blamed widening ditch for the sinkhole. But still, people believe that there was something much deeper than this. CNN’s Chief White House Correspondent, Jim Acosta tweeted that swampy weather caused the sinkhole to appear in the North Lawn of the White House.