--- description: Watch the moment when a giant sinkhole opens up in the middle of a road in Madera California north of Fresno title: See the Terrifying Moment When a Giant Sinkhole Opens Up image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte2ea356ee2466a70/69888ed1428a9eb062cd22ff/12977111_1160646777312995_7411366874009729014_o.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # See the Terrifying Moment When a Giant Sinkhole Opens Up  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Apr 12, 2016 6:56 PM CUT  City of Madera Police Department  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Apr 12, 2016 6:56 PM CUT Authorities have shared video of the moment when a sinkhole formed in the middle of a road just north of Fresno. The 15-foot-by-20-foot-deep sinkhole formed in a 12-foot-by-15-foot section of the street, causing the street fall to into the sewage line, the City of Madera Police Department [said](https://www.facebook.com/City-of-Madera-Police-Department-641767625867582/?fref=photo "undefined") in a Facebook post. The road is expected to be closed for repairs for an “extended” period of time. Authorities suspect recent rainfall may be responsible for the damage. Rain can trigger sinkholes in areas where land surface is made up of “rocks that can be naturally dissolved by groundwater circulating through them,” according to the U.S. Geological Survey: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4291147/giant-sinkhole-video-california-madera/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4291147/giant-sinkhole-video-california-madera/"},"headline":"See the Terrifying Moment When a Giant Sinkhole Opens Up","datePublished":"2016-04-12T18:56:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:31:34.854Z","description":"Police in California shared video on Facebook","url":"https://time.com/4291147/giant-sinkhole-video-california-madera/","keywords":["Newsfeed","society"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte2ea356ee2466a70/69888ed1428a9eb062cd22ff/12977111_1160646777312995_7411366874009729014_o.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte2ea356ee2466a70/69888ed1428a9eb062cd22ff/12977111_1160646777312995_7411366874009729014_o.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"12977111_1160646777312995_7411366874009729014_o","caption":"","creditText":"City of Madera Police Department","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4291147/giant-sinkhole-video-california-madera/","name":"See the Terrifying Moment When a Giant Sinkhole Opens Up"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME Explains: Sinkholes","description":"TIME Senior Editor Bryan Walsh explains the science behind sinkholes, and why it seems like the geological phenomenon is becoming more common.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/0WEtQ4Wa/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-08-13T21:47:37.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0WEtQ4Wa.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4291147/giant-sinkhole-video-california-madera/","duration":"PT1M10S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4291147/giant-sinkhole-video-california-madera/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```