Chicago Sinkhole Swallows 3 Cars, Injures 1 Person In South Deering After Flooding

A sinkhole that opened up on the street of the Chicago neighborhood of South Deering swallowed three cars and injured one person on Thursday morning.

The Chicago Fire Department said that one person, who was not identified, was rescued from the sinkhole at approximately 5:30 a.m. and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The victim was listed in serious-to-critical condition as of Thursday morning, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The hole, which occurred near the intersection of 96th and Houston on the South Side of Chicago, occurred after heavy overnight rains and flooding, although officials would not confirm if it had been caused by weather. The Tribune reports that the local Edens, Eisenhower and Kennedy expressways had been temporarily closed Thursday morning due to nearly 5 inches of rain.

Chicago news station WGNtv reports that the hole had continued to expand even after rescue workers arrived at the scene and that it had nearly doubled in size in only 30 minutes. Only two cars were trapped inside the sinkhole when the fire department responded to the scene, but after their arrival it swallowed a third vehicle.

Chicago weatherman Tom Skilling assessed the flooding as a serious threat and said that residents should be on watch throughout Thursday night. “A serious flood threat continues as waves of downpour-generating thunderstorms sweep across this area's rain-saturated terrain at regular intervals through Thursday evening. The potential for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes remains elevated into Thursday evening,” Skilling said.