Large hole forms in Mullica Hill, New Jersey, after clogged drainage pipe blows out

MULLICA HILL, N.J. (CBS) - Neighbors said it sounded like a freight train passing through when a road collapsed in South Jersey Friday morning and left behind a massive hole.

The hole is at Swamp Road and Chatham Lane in Mullica Hill, part of Harrison Township. The site is one block off Main Street.

The 50-foot-deep hole formed after a clogged drainage pipe blew out due to pressure around 7:30 Friday morning, Harrison Township Mayor Lou Manzo said. 

Water from the culvert flowed under Swamp Road, and when it gave way, millions of gallons of water were sent into the Raccoon Creek, which then flowed downstream.

"It was like a river running through there, I couldn't believe there was that much water," said Deb Russo, whose home backs up to the ravine that filled with water.

"My dog jumped on the bed because I was actually still in bed. She jumped on the bed and she was shaking and she was shivering and I couldn't understand what happened," said Maria Kreh, who heard several loud bangs.

The flooding knocked down dozens of trees and brought down power poles. There was no power or water to several homes around the collapse. But the mayor said they should be restored by Friday evening.

"Currently, as of now, there has been no evacuations," Manzo said. "We are evaluating the structural integrity of the road to determine whether the three houses that are in this area without power and without water right now, as it's working on be restored, would be a consideration to be evacuated, and that would be determined in these coming hours."

Residents in the area raised concerns about the drainage in the area in the past, Manzo said. 

"The pipes that go through at the bottom are not accessible by equipment and it's impossible to get equipment there, so the only way to clean these pipes out is to be done manually," Manzo said. "Yes, the residents, knowing better than anyone, have expressed those concerns to us." 

Local authorities said water levels along the creek and other tributaries were elevated on Friday.

"I would say with the water table being so high, this is why it became more of an emergent situation and something that we had been seeking to address," Manzo said. "Now obviously we have a clean slate to fix it."

Manzo said he intends to declare a state of emergency to help with possible funding, and added the Department of Environmental Protection will survey the area to help determine the next steps.

Manzo said Swamp Road in the area will be closed for some time as this cleanup gets underway.

Is this a sinkhole?

So far no officials have described this as a sinkhole.

The Gloucester County Office of Emergency Management said just before 8 a.m., part of the roadway failed, leading to "a release of copious amounts of water from the Racoon Creek tributary, flooding sections by the Old Mill and releasing into the Creek."

In:
• New Jersey
• Gloucester County
• Sinkhole