Large sinkhole opens up in California after flooding

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Aliss Higham

By Aliss Higham

Reporter

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A sinkhole has appeared in a road in San Diego after the city was hit with heavy rain and flash floods earlier this week.

The exact location of the sinkhole is unknown at the moment, with Newsweek working to clarify this information. According to posts on social media, the hole appeared in the Miramar area of the city on Tuesday.

The City of San Diego posted on X, formerly Twitter: "Due to construction work, Miramar Road westbound lanes between Cabot and Dowdy drives are currently closed to through traffic. Westbound traffic is being routed to adjacent surface streets. Dowdy Drive is also closed at the intersection with Miramar."

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Images from the scene posted on social media show a large, deep hole in the ground and crews surrounding it surveying the damage.

Flood damage sign

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San Diego declared a state of emergency after extreme flash flooding hit the area earlier this week. The National Weather Service (NWS) said a record breaking amount of rain—2.7 inches—had fallen as of 8 p.m. on Monday, beating the previous record of 1.53 inches in 1967.

According to posts on social media, the sinkhole is causing traffic delays in the area. X user Giulietta Elise Lizarraga wrote: "San Diego is falling apart after the recent storm. There is a giant sinkhole on one of the main streets and it is causing massive traffic."

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California has been ravaged by storms this week due to an atmospheric river crossing over the state. Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow regions in the atmosphere that bring water vapor from the Pacific Ocean inland. When traveling over land, these rivers release this water vapor as either rain or snow, which can lead to extreme rainfall and therefore flooding.

San Diego is usually dry, averaging just 10 inches of rain per year in the coastal areas, according to the San Diego County Water Authority. In an update on Tuesday evening, the National Weather Service (NWS) reported that the wettest areas were drenched with between four and 5.5 inches of rain in the previous four days.

The city's mayor, Todd Gloria, declared a state of emergency on Monday, with shelters being set up to house displaced residents and homeless people. "I have declared a state of emergency in the City of San Diego due to extreme rainfall and flash flooding," he wrote on X. "Please stay safe. Stay home if possible and never attempt to travel on flooded roads."

Across the city, the San Diego Fire Department rescued hundreds of people from their homes in badly flooded areas.

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