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In Cursan, in Gironde, a hole of 4 meters appeared in the garden of a family after a day of intense rain. The speleologists discovered that the fault led to an old limestone quarry, which was not listed.
They had lived in this house in Cursan (Gironde) for four years, without knowing that a danger threatened them. In March, the ground suddenly subsided. A “large pipe more than 2 meters in diameter, 4 meters deep”, describes Stéphane Arlot. The subsidence required their evacuation, then the municipality called in speleologists. Underground, they discovered an old quarry.
1,400 underground quarries listed, but many wild quarries
“We discovered that it was an underground quarry (…) which was not listed at the level of the town hall, exploited in an unofficial way”, explains Frédéric Bisiacco, deputy departmental technical advisor for speleology in the Gironde. In the department, 1,400 underground quarries are listed. Many wild quarries still remain unknown, such as at Cursan, where the collapse occurred. The Arlot family must now fully finance the study of the damage, and any work not covered by insurance.
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