POTTSVILLE, Pa. -- A mine subsidence formed outside an elementary school in Pottsville Monday afternoon.
Right after school let out on Monday, a hole formed in the street outside John S. Clarke Elementary Center in Pottsville.
Debbie Cody owns a nearby Studio 16 Salon on Walter Griffiths Avenue near where the subsidence formed.
"Yesterday, we were closed, but I was over here doing some paperwork and I saw everybody out there scrambling," Cody said. "Didn't know what it was."
The state Department of Environmental Protection tells Newswatch 16 the hole is a mine subsidence that's several feet deep.
"I know there was a colliery here (and) coal mine dumping, stuff like that," Renee Wetzel of Pottsville said. "So, nothing like this surprises me at all."
Pottsville's street department, as well as other agencies, covered the subsidence quickly. That portion of the road and the sidewalk next to it is also closed.
The school district's superintendent, Jeffrey Zwiebel, tells Newswatch 16 his main priority when the subsidence formed was to make sure all of his students were safe. He said classes at John S. Clarke Elementary will remain in session and that the subsidence will not affect the building or the baseball field across from it.
"We may have to reroute some traffic once they begin to fix this," Zwiebel said. "They told me hopefully within this week."
The DEP expects to have the subsidence filled in quickly, but there is no date for the work to begin.