Apartment house evacuated after massive sinkhole forms in Haverhill

By Russ Reed

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    HAVERHILL, Massachusetts (WCVB) — An apartment house in Haverhill has been evacuated due to a large sinkhole that formed in the Massachusetts city, according to officials.

The Haverhill Mayor’s Office and Greater Haverhill Emergency Communications Response Team said that about 20 people living in a five-unit home on Ford Street, which is in the Mt. Washington neighborhood, were evacuated Friday morning as a precaution after a gaping sinkhole formed nearby on Thursday.

City officials said the sinkhole formed as a result of the torrent of rain that fell on Tuesday and the bursting of a decades-old sewer pipe. About an inch of rain fell Thursday night, which prompted the evacuation of the apartment house near the sinkhole. More rain is expected to fall in Haverhill on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

According to the mayor’s office, it will take weeks and at least $1 million to repair the sewer pipe that burst and contributed to the formation of that sinkhole.

Officials from the Haverhill Fire and Police departments, Haverhill Office of Emergency Management, Haverhill Public Works Department and Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency are involved in the matter.

Haverhill Mayor James Fiorentini has declared a city state of emergency, which will allow the city to procure emergency funds from the state and the federal government.

The declaration will also help homeowners and business owners who were affected by flooding caused by Tuesday’s major rain event. Haverhill residents and business owners are asked to fill out a post-flood damage information form, as there has to be a property damage threshold met in order for the city to receive funding from disaster assistance programs. The deadline to submit the form, which can be found by clicking here, is Aug. 17.

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