Oct. 11 (UPI) — Residents of a North Carolina neighborhood are asking the city to step in after a sinkhole on a neighboring property nearly doubled in size.
Locals in the Montford section of Asheville said they first noticed the sinkhole in July, and the pit has nearly doubled in size since August. The sinkhole is on a property owned by a rental company.
“This has been a constant source of stress for two months,” Nat Dickinson, who lives next to the property, told WLOS-TV.
Dickinson said the sinkhole is blocking storm culverts, causing his and other nearby homes to become flooded with stormwaters.
“The water came rushing down the driveway, and the back yard was flooded,” he said. “My basement was flooded, as well.”
Dickinson said his homeowner’s insurance does not cover the damage caused by the sinkhole, and he is concerned that the hole is approaching his property line.
“It’s at the fence line now,” he said.
Dickinson said he reached out to the city of Asheville for help in July, but didn’t receive a reply until this month.
A city spokesman said municipal crews can’t do anything about the sinkhole, since it is on private property, but officials have been in touch with the owners.
“The sinkhole located in Montford is on private property. City staff have been in contact with the property owner, and the property owner has contracted with an engineering company,” the spokesman said in a statement. “The city has placed barricades for safety.”