Cracks and strange noises trigger fear of collapsing mines in Scottish villages, force mass evacuations
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Cracks and strange noises trigger fear of collapsing mines in Scottish villages, force mass evacuations")
Unused mines could be collapsing in Coalsnaughton, Clackmannanshire in Scotland. (Representative image) Photograph: (Wikimedia Commons)
Residents of two villages in Scotland have been evacuated following fears that their houses could fall. They heard strange sounds and saw cracks in the buildings, and were later told to leave. One of the villages used to be a coal mine.
Residents of two Scottish villages have been forced to leave their homes following fears that unused coal mines in the area could collapse. Ground movement in Coalsnaughton, Clackmannanshire, has led to large cracks in the buildings. Benbuck View, a former mining village, was the first to be evacuated earlier this month, and now another 30 homes in neighbouring Dunmoss View have also been told to leave their homes. People reported hearing strange noises before they moved out. "The night before, we were already hearing strange noises at night. We thought, "That's strange, maybe it's the wind," a resident named Larni told the BBC.
More streets could be affected by the shaking ground
There are now fears that the problem could spread to other nearby villages as well. Clackmannanshire Council leader Ellen Forson said that there is a chance that more streets could be evacuated. "Obviously, this time last week it was one street, and there were no indications that another street would be impacted," she said. The next street along Nechtan Drive could be next, and residents fear they could be told to leave. People are living in temporary accommodation, and some of them said they heard creaking noises a few days ago but dismissed them as coming from the neighbours.
A Mining Remediation Authority (MRA) map shows that Dunmoss View once had an entry to the mine, and the area is marked as having "past shallow coal mine workings". People who returned to fetch their belongings later reported that the cracks had grown larger. One resident told the BBC that a new gap had appeared between their gate and the gate post when she went to take the family's things from their home. An initial report on the ground movement is expected from the MRA next week.
Clackmannanshire Council imposed a three-week road closure in Benbuck View last week for "ground investigations and safety reasons." Forson thinks it is too early to talk about re-homing the residents. "At the moment, it's temporary accommodation to meet initial needs, and we'll look at the situation as we move forward from there."
