An emergency services worker monitoring sinkholes in Berezniki, Russia ©New York Times
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World travelers know of Venice, the city built atop water and afflicted by floods every year. In Russia, the city of Berezniki is their Venice.
Except Berezniki was built above a mine and is afflicted by sinkholes many times a year. Once a sinkhole is found, the city is put on 24-hour video surveillance, with the threat of a new hole claiming buildings and lives.
We will fight the holes with science, the mayor, Sergei P. Dyakov, said in an interview. The city will not need to relocate, he said, because engineers believe that no new holes will open.
Residents refer to the largest sinkhole in Berezniki affectionately as “The Grandfather”–the hole is now 340 yards wide by 430 yards long and 780 feet deep.
More on Russia’s sinking city can be found at the New York Times.