MMDA closes part of Sales Road in Pasay due to formation of sinkhole
A personnel from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority inspects a sinkhole that formed along Sales Road near the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on Sunday afternoon, April 14, 2024. Photo from the MMDA
MANILA, Philippines — The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has advised motorists to take alternative routes and avoid a sinkhole that formed in the middle of Sales Road near the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
In a Facebook post on Sunday morning, MMDA said it spotted a sinkhole in the middle of the road near Gate 3 of Villamor Air Base.
A photo taken by INQUIRER.net around 2:33 p.m. showed that the hole had gotten deeper and wider.
Personnel from the Department of Public Works and Highways are fixing the road portion, making it temporarily inaccessible to motorists.
The MMDA has yet to indicate what caused the hole, but according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), sinkholes happen due to “dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum – when acidic water from rain and groundwater interacts with these rocks.”
USGS also said sinkholes may occur from human activities such as extensive groundwater pumping.
Sinkhole spotted along Sales Road near the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on Sunday afternoon, April 14, 2024. (INQUIRER.net/ Ram Nabong)
INQUIRER.net/ Ram Nabong
