Giant sinkhole swallows three cars in Chicago

A giant sinkhole opened up this morning in Chicago swallowing three cars and sending one man to hospital.

It's about 13 metres wide, making it wider than a city street. Initially there was only two cars in the hole, but a third was hanging by the tires and eventually fell.

Merko Krivokuca was driving his pickup when the road bucked and his car fell into the hole, but he is said to be doing okay at the hospital, according to the Chicago Tribune. The other two cars that fell in were parked at the side of the road. One of the owners watched it slide.

[ Related: Ottawa sinkhole opens up, swallows car, driver ]

The sinkhole is being blamed on a rainstorm that pummeled the area causing a water main to break. Tom LaPorte, a spokesman for the Water Department, told the Tribune the cast iron pipe that dates back to 1915 may have broke due to the heavy rains. Flooding brought on by more than 15 cm of rain has forced the closure of several major roads, schools and some flights.

A sinkhole was in the news most recently when a major one opened up and swallowed a man while he was in his bed in Florida.

[ Related: Giant sinkhole surprises man who thinks it’s a puddle ]

Canada has also seen a busy few years with sinkholes. Last fall one opened up near Ottawa forcing one man to drive right into it.

"I stepped on the brakes but it was just too late," Juan Pedro Unger said to the Ottawa Citizen. "The car went in nose first."

Major sinkholes have also been seen in Saskatoon, Toronto and Vancouver. Two separate holes that were 10 and 30 metres wide opened in Toronto in late 2011, forcing major roads to shut down lanes for weeks.

All of these are believed to be the result of broken water mains, caused by the storm sewers that run under the roads rotting away. When the pipes rot, the water leaks out and causes major gaps in the soil. It's then only a matter of time before the asphalt gives way.