'Terrified:' Video, photos show massive chasm created by sinkhole in English village
Dozens were evacuated and at least one garden was swallowed by a sinkhole in a southern English village on Monday, local reports say.
The sinkhole, which formed in the village of Godstone in Surrey, about 18 miles south of London, grew approximately 20 metres, or about 65 feet by midday on Tuesday.
Sinkholes are depressions in the ground that have no natural external surface drainage, the U.S Geological Survey reports. Any water, typically rainwater, that comes into contact with a sinkhole stays inside of it, draining into the subsurface.
It has since been declared a "major incident" by local agencies, according to reporting by Reuters.
Watch: Aerial footage shows sinkhole in English village
Sinkhole prompts evacuations
Rez Mira and his family were among those evacuated from the surrounding area. The family spent the night with relatives, returning to find that their garden had sunken in, the BBC reported.
"It's collapsed, the wall will come down, for sure," Mira told the BBC. "We're just terrified. We have to figure out where to live now. Next week school is going back, and we have to find somewhere close by."
Josh Neame, another resident, faced a similar predicament. He was one week shy of living in his new home when he was evacuated and had no choice but to sleep in his vehicle.
"They've just let me in now - over my shoulder is a bag of toiletries, pants and socks to get me through. I don't know what's going to come from here, no-one can give me any info," Neame told the BBC. "They said it could be up to a week before we're back in. I don't think they know what state the mains gas and electric's in, so it was risk of explosion, fire, collapse."
The incident was the last thing anyone would have wanted to happen on a Monday, especially since he still hadn't finished unpacking his belongings.
Crews managed to restore utilities, including water and electricity, that went out after a main water pipe burst and were working to make the area safe. Investigations, per the Surrey County Council, were ongoing.
Evacuated residents were asked to stay away from the area until the work was complete, Reuters reported. Road closures and a small number of buildings in the surrounding area were evacuated as a precaution, the BBC reported.
"The Local Resilience Forum will continue to meet throughout this incident to ensure everything is being done to resolve the situation as quickly and safely as possible," said Carl Bussey, SCC spokesperson, told Reuters.