CALIFORNIA, United States (Reuters) — A roadway near the city of Pinole, California collapsed on Wednesday (January 11) after a water pipe burst as a result of a heavy winter rainstorm, causing a sinkhole to form and give way beneath the road, a local NBC affiliate station reported. Pinole is located just northeast of San Francisco.
The road collapse was likely the result of breached levees and overflowing creeks that have overwhelmed the city’s drainage system, NBC reported, citing local officials.
Several months of wet weather have dramatically eased California’s years-long drought, replenishing reservoirs and parched aquifers and forcing state water officials to switch – at least temporarily – from managing shortages to avoiding floods.
With rain continuing to fall following a deluge that brought 20 inches (50 cm) of precipitation to some areas this week, the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains – crucial for storing water needed in the state’s long, hot summers – is deeper and wetter than normal. Reservoirs were well above normal levels, state and federal drought experts said on Thursday.
And while the rainfall has proved necessary for the parched environment, it’s become a headache for local commuters. Officials say several of the roadways near Pinole are closed indefinitely due to safety concerns after the latest road collapse and other nearby landslides.