La. Sinkhole Area Landslide! Worst Fears Coming True

Seismic data from helicorder on July 9, 2013. Image courtesy of University of Memphis.

Following recent earthquakes at Louisiana’s 22-acre “sinkhole,” a nearby landslide event has been recorded further down the bayou, closer to Lake Verret, according to officials.  

The sinkhole area  landslide event has been listed by RSOE as:

EDIS CODE: LS-20130709-39953-USA
Date & Time: 2013-07-09 03:33:40 [UTC]
Area: USA, State of Louisiana,  Assumption Parish,

Coordinates are listed as: N 29� 55.395, W 91� 5.816.

The landslide occurred approximately half-way between Lake Fubar and Lake Verret. 

The two bayous, Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou, where the 1-mile by 3-mile collpasing salt dome is, empty into Lake Verret. 

Old-timers in the area told this reporter long ago, soon after the “sinkhole” first appeared and had begun to grow last summer, that it would ultimately join Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou as well as Lake Verret, making the Cajun fishermen’s homeland one massive oil and gas chemical lake.

The sinkhole is spewing large amounts of oil and methane that are oozing to the surface. Nevertheless, the state is still issuing permits for oil and gas companies to operate business as usual there.

The oil and gas disaster in Assumption Parish has been a nightmare for over 300 residents in the swampy area.

Today, people there are even more uncertain about the future.

One of seven operators of the salt dome, Houston-baed Texas Brine LLC., is negotiating with residents about buying out their land. This applies only to those not involved in lawsuits against it. Those suing will have to wait.

According to The Associated Press, a spokesperson for the company has confirmed that until now 92 buyout offers have been offered, of which 44 have been accepted. Some local residents are eager to move after news of the sinkhole arose.

Many people, including some officials, fear the area is unsafe and that  it will remain so in the long term. They justifiably fear whether the “sinkhole” would make the wider area compromised. Those fears have been further validated Tuesday when the landslide occurred further away from the actual disaster site.

Experts had advised that the “sinkhole” could grow to 30 acres. 

Last official size of the hungry swamp monster is 22 acres, but that was before its most recent quakes, big burp and landslide.

There are also fears about the methane leaking in the area, and worries that the trapped gas could build up and cause explosions.

Officials said those situations are very unlikely, according to the Associated Press. That, however, has done little to quell the fear in some, especially since they have been warned that explosions are a real possibility.

Methane has been detected in at least four separate residences on Bayou Corne community’s north side.

Grand Bayou residents have already been forced off their land due to gas leaks back in 2003.

Officials have said the Bayou Corne gas levels recorded were “low.”  Knowing the fate of Grand Bayou neighbors, however, those “low” gas leaks have been enough to make some people willing to take what they can and leave.

Authorities are looking at the process of filling the void created by the collapsed cavern, hoping this would stabilize the area. 

Experts confirm that the land is still shifting and the sinkhole has continued to grow over recent weeks. They had previously said that if the area was fractured, there would be no way to repair it.  It is fractured.

Deborah Dupré is author of the book, ‘Vampire of Macondo: Life, crimes and curses in south Louisiana on the Gulf of Mexico that powerful forces do not want you to know.‘ It is the first book to reveal: genocide of Americans by the petrochemical-military- industrial complex; how BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil catastrophe sickened and killed thousands of Gulf of Mexico Coast people and how government covered it up. Hear heart-rending cries of the victims in Vampire of Macondo . Read the thoroughly documented evidence of crimes by Big Oil, military, seafood and tourism industries, health care providers, and corrupt government leaders in ‘Vampire of Macondo.’  

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