State Mineral and Geoscience Department director Mohamad Noor Ayoob said the earthquake could have caused the sinkholes although tremors were not felt in the affected areas.
He was not sure if there was a link between the two incidents.
The worst affected area is a coconut and jackfruit orchard in Kampung Kuboi in Jeram, near Kampar. About 25 sinkholes, some about 45m –the length of an Olympic-size swimming pool – first appeared at the orchard on Dec 28.
There were six smaller sinkholes in Kampung Simee, Kampung Sungai Tapah and Kampung Sungai Tapah Tambahan in Manjoi, Jalan Abu Nawas in Buntong, the compound of the Veterinary Services Department slaughterhouse in Menglembu, and in Chenderiang near Kampar.
THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED: Mohamad Noor explainingthe formation of sinkholes in Ipoh yesterday.
— STARpic by CHAN LI LEEN
Mohamad Noor told reporters here yesterday that the limestone bedrock of the orchard had been dissolved by water from an underground stream.
“This causes cavities to form, becoming bigger over time until the thinning layer of limestone breaks.
“Sand then trickles in and is sucked into the hole underground and creates the depression on the surface,” he said, warning that the area around the orchard was unstable and still sinking.
He said there was a possibility that an entire 30,000 sq metre area could collapse.
On the sinkholes in Manjoi which damaged two houses, Mohamad Noor said it would be more accurate to describe them as soil settlement due to the shallowness of the depressions.
“We believe they were due to improper drainage system. In the places that we dug, we found either underground leaking pipes or leaks from the piping system of the house itself,” he said.
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