There’s a state of emergency in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, after two sinkholes opened up.
One of them swallowed a dump truck.
No injuries have been reported, but so far there’s no timeline for when repair work might be done.
Several homes in jeopardy
“When we brought one of the dump trucks in, one of our contractors came in with a dump truck, it actually broke through a separate portion of the roadway. And that exposed more issues,” Phillipsburg Mayor Randy Piazza Jr. said.
The dump truck was swallowed up by the second sinkhole to open in two days at Summit Avenue and Lewis Street.
A dump truck was swallowed by a sinkhole in Phillipsburg, N.J. on Feb. 18, 2026.
CBS News New York
Several homes in the Warren County town are in jeopardy. Sidewalks are apparently sagging in the area, with the problem being worse Wednesday than the day before. The town’s state of emergency enables it to speed up assistance to try to get the situation under control as soon as possible.
Ground-penetrating radar revealed more underground voids have inched closer to the nearby sidewalks and homes. Seven homes have been deemed unsafe, and residents were asked to leave.
Underground power lines and water mains have been compromised, and about 100 houses lost power and up to 30 had no water.
“How far is it going to go?”
A dump truck was swallowed by a sinkhole in Phillipsburg, N.J. on Feb. 18, 2026.
CBS News New York
Geologists say areas with limestone bedrock are particularly prone to sinkholes.
“Phillipsburg is sitting in a valley which has limestone underneath it. So I suspect that this particular sinkhole in Phillipsburg is a natural surface collapse into a cavern,” Hofstra University geology professor Brett Bennington said.
“It looks crazy, man. Like, it’s just something unheard of,” resident Tyreek McBryde said.
Jamal Clark is using a generator to keep his refrigerator running and food cold.
“Because it’ll spoil real fast,” he said.
Clark pointed to the curb nearby, which he said had been level and flush, and was now cracked up due to shifting.
“How far is it going to go? Is it going to come all the way down here?” he said.
More from CBS News