1/31/17
by News Department on 01/31/17More subsidence...
More holes have opened up at a home in Schuylkill County that suffered damage from a mine subsidence just two months ago.
Officials with the Department of Environmental Protection say if a home is built on top of an abandoned coal mine, and one hole caves in, more are likely to follow.
Mine crews found this to be true for the property in Mahanoy Township as more holes are continuing to cave in.
The family is back living in the home now, but in the last few weeks, three more subsidences have caved in within feet of the first hole.
Colleen Connolly of the Department of Environmental Protection said, "Fortunately they weren't as large or did as much damage.” She added that,"Pennsylvania is one of the few states that offers mine subsidence insurance, and the DEP encourages homeowners to take advantage of it."
There was concern by the family that nearby underground blasting could be to blame, but after investigating, officials with the DEP say it was not the cause of the new subsidences.
