--- title: Japan Sinkhole: Street Collapse Is Already Repaired description: The mayor says the affected area is 30 times stronger canonical: https://time.com/4571934/japan-massive-sinkhole-fixed/ author: Andrew Katz article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-15T19:35:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T01:50:19.126Z article:section: World og:title: That 'Unprecedented' Sinkhole in Japan? It's Already Fixed og:description: The mayor says the affected area is 30 times stronger og:url: https://time.com/4571934/japan-massive-sinkhole-fixed/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a27a334c33faac9/6988ae908e0601fc3c468448/japan-massive-sinkhole-fixed.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: japan-massive-sinkhole-fixed og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: That 'Unprecedented' Sinkhole in Japan? It's Already Fixed twitter:description: The mayor says the affected area is 30 times stronger twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a27a334c33faac9/6988ae908e0601fc3c468448/japan-massive-sinkhole-fixed.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # That 'Unprecedented' Sinkhole in Japan? It's Already Fixed ## Video: Giant Sinkhole Swallows an Entire Street in Japan [Watch (HLS stream): Giant Sinkhole Swallows an Entire Street in Japan](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/lgHDv4BG.m3u8) (0:44)  _Published 2016-11-08. The sinkhole is thought to have been caused by underground work on a subway extension_  by [Andrew Katz](/author/andrew-katz/)  ## Andrew Katz Nov 15, 2016 7:35 PM CUT  A combination photo shows a sinkhole in Fukuoka, Japan, on Nov. 8, 2016, left, and fixed a week later on Nov. 15, 2016. A combination photo shows a sinkhole in Fukuoka, Japan, on Nov. 8, 2016, left, and fixed a week later on Nov. 15, 2016.Kyodo News/AP  by [Andrew Katz](/author/andrew-katz/)  ## Andrew Katz Nov 15, 2016 7:35 PM CUT That was quick, and impressive. Nearly a week after [a giant sinkhole](http://time.com/4562150/japan-sinkhole-fukuoka/?xid=time%5Fsocialflow%5Ffacebook "undefined") opened on a five-lane street in a southwestern Japanese city, all appears normal. The 65-foot-deep sinkhole opened early on Nov. 8 in the business district of Fukuoka and was thought to be the result of work on an underground subway line extension. Slabs of pavement, traffic lights and utility poles were swallowed when the road caved in; some locals were evacuated; and disruptions in gas and water supplies and cell phone signals were reported, as were power cuts. Soichiro, Takashima, the city’s mayor, [called](http://time.com/4562150/japan-sinkhole-fukuoka/ "undefined") the sinkhole “unprecedented.” Within a few days, the hole was filled in with a mixture of cement and sand. [According to CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/15/asia/fukuoka-sinkhole-filled/ "undefined"), it then took some two days to restore damaged utility lines and resurface the affected area of the road. Takashima was quoted as saying the section of road was 30 times stronger than it had been before the collapse. On Tuesday, pedestrians and vehicles again made use of the busy throughway. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4571934/japan-massive-sinkhole-fixed/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4571934/japan-massive-sinkhole-fixed/"},"headline":"That 'Unprecedented' Sinkhole in Japan? 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