The Great Collapse: Crust weakening, slipping, and collapsing across the planet

February 23, 2013 – Geological event rips road in Arizona: A 150-foot section of U.S. 89 south of Page that buckled and sunk four feet Wednesday might have been caused by a “geologic event,” according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. The road collapsed at mile post 526 just 2.5 miles north of the intersection with U.S. 89A, about 25 miles south of page, according to an ADOT spokesman. He said the incident was not related to the weather. The road was closed in both directions and there was no estimation when the highway would reopen, said an ADOT spokesman. ADOT officials said northbound U.S. 89 was closed at the U.S. 89A junction, which takes motorists west toward Jacob Lake. In Page, U.S. 89 was closed at the junction with State Route 98. Northbound motorists were being routed to U.S. 160 east to State Route 98, and north on SR 98 back to U.S. 89 in Page. The detour is about 45 miles longer than the direct route, the spokesman said. The Coconino College campus in Page was also closed because of the road closure. DPS reported a number of collisions within the collapse, but none appeared to be serious. No injuries were reported. No other information was immediately available.

UK nightmare: The landslip, described as one of the worst in living memory, has twisted tracks in the area, disrupting train service to and from the region for untold months.

Massive landslip in the UK: There is no end in sight to the severe disruption a landslide has caused for Scunthorpe area rail passengers, according to a leading rail expert. Sim Harris, managing editor at Railnews, the national newspaper for the British rail industry, says the landslide near Hatfield Colliery that is affecting thousands of North Lincolnshire rail passengers is the worst in decades. The disruption for passengers travelling between Scunthorpe and Doncaster has seen their journeys extended by up to an hour as they take buses to and from their destination. Work cannot begin repairing the track until the landslide stops moving – and officials at Network Rail say they have no idea when this will be. Mr Harris said: “Landslips themselves are not that uncommon and over the last year there have been quite a few because of the heavy rain that we have had. “There have been a lot of landslips that have not been rail-related, but some railways have been affected. This one is certainly the worst in my recollection and you have to go back a long way to find anything of this nature. In 1953, there were floods along the east coast service near Newcastle, where bridges were washed away. I don’t think I have seen anything like this in recent memory. I don’t recall anything as serious as this. There is no end in sight. He says repairing the line will not be an easy task. Until the ground stops moving, there is not much that Network Rail can do – their hands are tied. When it stops moving, it will take more than five minutes to rebuild four tracks of main railway. There are junctions that are involved which make it much more difficult.”