Turkey: Town sees nine sinkholes in three months

One expert says recent heavy rain has made the area's sinkhole problem even worse

A town in central Turkey has seen nine sinkholes appear in just three months, it's reported.

Some of the holes which have emerged around Karapinar, in the province of Konya, are about 70m (230ft) deep, the Daily Sabah website reports. Many are on or near agricultural land, causing particular disquiet among farmers. But residents are worried that future sinkholes could swallow up homes. It's thought they're being caused by limestone dissolving underground, the Radikal website says.

"I don't know what to do. We alerted the authorities," says farmer Mustafa Dirican. "They sent experts and drilled the ground to study it. That is all they've done, and the sinkholes still appear." Another farmer says he is scared of working on the land in case it collapses beneath him, but adds that people don't have much choice. "We have to work," he says.

According to Mr Dirican, small sinkholes started appearing in the area in 1997, but the problem has worsened in the past two years. A local geology professor says recent heavy rain is to blame. "Predicting when and where they will occur isn't possible," Prof Fethullah Arik tells Radikal, adding that there are more than 200 sinkholes in the region.

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