A large sinkhole caused by a faulty drain pipe opened up in Ohio, swallowing a portion of a baseball field.
On Thursday morning, the sinkhole formed on McDonald Commons in the city of Madeira, Ohio, after the drain pipe failed amid heavy flooding, according to a Facebook post by City Council member Brian Mueller.
"Heavy rain overnight caused flooding throughout town including the central business district. Unfortunately, a drain pipe at McDonald Commons failed, causing a 20' x 40' sinkhole near baseball field B," Mueller said in the post.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that the area received more than 3 inches of rain in the space of 24 hours between Wednesday and Thursday.
Mueller shared a photo of the sinkhole on his Facebook page. It showed that a large chunk of the baseball field had been damaged, while a fence had been erected to keep people away from the area.
He said that the city expects the hole to get worse as the area continues to be hit with rain, and initially wrote that officials had "not yet determined" how the sinkhole would affect the Independence Day fireworks event scheduled at the common on July 3.
However, in a later post, Mueller confirmed that the annual event would go ahead, writing: "The good news is that the #Madeira Independence Day celebration & fireworks at McDonald Commons are still ON!"
In a statement to the Enquirer, Mueller added that although it is "unlikely" that the hole will be repaired in time for Saturday's event, he said that "the City is evaluating the safety of blocking off the area from attendees," as he confirmed that they have already blocked "off the dirt baseball fields to prevent dust being kicked up by walking/running."
Sinkholes, which are found all over the world, can form gradually or appear very suddenly, making them extremely dangerous.
In June, two dogs were saved from a giant sinkhole that they fell into at a farm in Mexico, after it grew in size and began to swallow a nearby house.
The sinkhole in the state of Puebla, which grew to the same size as an American football field, was formed late in May on a farm in the town of Juan C. Bonilla.
A house began to get swallowed up, causing the family that owns it to evacuate, while two dogs fell into the hole and were trapped for four days on a ledge inside the crater.
The dogs were eventually rescued after the emergency services initially held off from taking them to safety because of the dangerous conditions at the sinkhole.
Newsweek contacted Mueller for comment.
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