When we think of sinkholes, we often think of the little ones that appear in yards in the spring – or on the other end of the spectrum, we think of the enormous sinkholes that swallow entire towns in other parts of the world. Here in Nebraska, we have plenty of the former and thankfully none of the latter. We’ve also got quite a few that fall somewhere between the two. They aren’t the biggest you’ve ever seen, but they’re big enough and sudden enough to be scary.

1. Crete, 2015

*Please note: there’s a little profanity in the following video.*

This 14-foot-deep sinkhole opened up in Crete last year following massive flooding in the area. For the record, never ever climb down into a sinkhole. It’s extremely dangerous and the entire thing could collapse in on itself at any moment.

2. A housing development in Omaha, 2010

This massive sinkhole opened up behind a housing development in Omaha. According to the people in the video, those vertical pylons were actually taller than the hole before the cave-in, so that has to mean that the hole was seriously deep.

3. Weston, 2014

*Note: there is some profanity in this video.*

Someone got very lucky this day. Just after driving across this stretch of road in Weston, the man filming the video recorded the street falling in on itself. I hope he bought himself a lottery ticket that evening, because it was only luck that kept it from falling in while he was driving on it.

4. Omaha, 2014

This woman wasn’t quite as fortunate. Her car was actually swallowed by a sinkhole as she drove over a weakened section of street. She did escape without serious injury, though, which is a very good thing.

Sinkholes form for a variety of reasons, but in Nebraska they’re usually caused by something like a broken water main or heavy floods washing away the dirt beneath the surface. Be careful if you see a section of ground or road bowing downward – and maybe get out your phone to record what happens next.

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