Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment

Karst is the term used to refer to landscapes dominated by limestone and similar soluble carbonate rocks. Acidic groundwater and rainfall dissolves the surrounding carbonate rocks creating sinkholes. Sinkholes are classified as natural depressions of the land surface. Areas with large amounts of karst are characterized by the presence of sinkholes, sinking streams, springs, caves, and solution valleys (Weary and Doctor 2014). Human activities can expedite cavity formation in these susceptible materials and trigger their collapse, as well as the collapse of pre-existing subsurface cavities. Sinkholes are a frequent occurrence in areas underlain by calcareous carbonate formations, especially limestone and dolomite. Areas of abundant sinkholes are referred to as karst topography.