Japan’s giant sinkhole is sinking again

A giant sinkhole that was hastily repaired in Japan earlier this month is showing signs of movement.

Traffic was stopped at the busy intersection in Japanese city of Fukuoka on the weekend after the road was seen to sink some seven centimeters (2.7 inches).

Earlier this month, a 30 meter (98 feet) wide, 15 meter (50 feet) deep hole suddenly opened, swallowing five lanes of road and flooding with water.

It was repaired in a matter of days in what was seen as a testament to Japanese engineering and efficiency.

This photo shows a giant sinkhole (C) in a five-lane urban boulevard, eroding soil and exposing underground steel columns supporting commercial buildings in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan, on November 8, 2016. No injuries were reported as the accident occurred in the early morning hours. / AFP / JIJI PRESS / STR / Japan OUT (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

When the ground gives way —

Eight Corvettes fell into a sinkhole that opened up beneath a section of the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on February 12. The sinkhole was about 40 feet wide and 25-30 feet deep.

When the ground gives way —

An increasing number of sinkholes have appeared in and around the neighborhood where the Lotte World Tower is being built in Seoul, South Korea. The first one was discovered in June and several others have appeared since then, according to local media reports, causing the construction of what would be Seoul's tallest building to come under scrutiny.

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The rear portion of a residential home is consumed by a sinkhole November 14 in Dunedin, Florida.

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A 60-foot-wide sinkhole formed underneath the Summer Bay Resort in Clermont, Florida, about 10 minutes from Walt Disney World, on August 11. One resort building collapsed, and another slowly sank.

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A backhoe is swallowed by a sinkhole in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on August 6. The driver of the backhoe was not injured.

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A sinkhole killed a guard at a construction site in Shenzhen, China, on March 27. The sinkhole might have been caused by heavy rains and the collapsing of old water pipes running beneath the surface, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

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Workers watch the demolition of the house where a sinkhole opened three days before in Seffner, Florida, on March 3. Sinkholes caused by acidic groundwater corroding the limestone or carbonate rock underground are common in Florida, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

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Buildings fell into a sinkhole near a subway construction site in Guangzhou, China, in January 2013. The hole measured about 1,000 square feet across and 30 feet deep and was without casualties, according to a state media report.

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A basketball court in Ortley Beach, New Jersey, fell into a sinkhole caused by Superstorm Sandy in November 2012.

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In July 2011, a man inspects a 40-foot-deep sinkhole that a family found after they heard a booming noise in their kitchen in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

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Construction on a subway line caused a huge sinkhole to form in a road in Beijing in April 2011.

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An aerial photo shows sinkholes created by the drying of the Dead Sea near Israel in 2011.

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A utility worker examines the area around a sinkhole caused by a broken water main in Chevy Chase, Maryland, in December 2010.

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Tropical Storm Agatha caused a sinkhole to open in Guatemala City in May 2010.

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A fire truck protrudes from a sinkhole as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa talks to reporters in September 2009.

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A water main collapsed an entire block-long part of Ocean Park Boulevard in Santa Monica, California, in December 2002.

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In Orlando, a sinkhole 150 feet wide and 60 feet deep swallowed trees, pipelines and a section of sidewalk near an apartment building in June 2002.

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A 30-foot-deep sinkhole appeared in a busy street in a suburb east of downtown Los Angeles. A motorist drove into the hole but was rescued before a concrete slab fell onto the car.

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"The Great Blue Hole" is the name of a massive underwater sinkhole off the coast of Belize. The deeper you go, the clearer the water becomes, revealing amazing stalactites and limestone.

When the ground gives way

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Some doubt was raised over those plaudits Saturday however, when traffic had to be stopped around the hole as a section of road began sinking again. The road has since been re-opened.

On Facebook, Fukuoka mayor Soichiro Takashima apologized for not warning residents the ground could sink again.

City officials told CNN some movement had been expected as the sand and cement used to fill the hole settle.

Filled sinkholes can occasionally reopen dramatically. Last year, a massive sinkhole in Florida which caused the death of a man after it opened under his bedroom, appeared again, sparking renewed fears among local residents.