In Southwest Missouri, everyone remembers the story of Norm Scrivener, the gentleman who, on August 13, 2006, had just put his lawnmower away in his garage after mowing his lawn, only to walk into his home located in the heart of Nixa, MO, and hear a loud crashing noise seconds later. He reopened the door from his home to his garage to discover his garage had been swallowed....BY THE EARTH!
Within the following two days, the sinkhole grew to approximately 70 feet wide by 75 feet deep and DEVOURED HIS ENTIRE HOME!
Fast forward to 4 years later.
On March 28, 2010, one block away from Norm Scrivener's home, another sinkhole opened up in the front yard of a home approximately 5 feet wide, causing the owners to evacuate, and the Nixa Public Schools to change the bus route as a precautionary measure.
And yet again today, another top news story of a sinkhole appearing on Tracker Road, causing the road to be closed down and traffic re-routed.
This has many people in Christian County, MO, wondering how safe their homes and neighborhoods are. Unfortunately, the massive sinkhole that swallowed Norm's home was not located on any geological maps. Many, however, are.
Christian County has unveiled its new GIS viewer, containing information regarding:
- Streets & Highways
- Railroads
- Rivers & Streams
- FEMA - Floodplain
- USGS Contours
- Sinkhole Information
- Subdivisions
- Assessor Info
- Cities & Towns
- Fire Districts
- Road Districts
- School Districts
- Section/Township/Range
- County Boundaries
- 2009 Aerials
If you're searching for a home to buy in Christian County, Missouri, this is a great resource to check out prior to making your decision. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
SEARCH HOMES FOR SALE IN CHRISTIAN COUNTY, MO
|
Lina Robertson Jones
Owner/Agent
RE/MAX Solutions
1715 James River Road
Ozark, MO, 65721 |
Mobile: (417) 844-7265
linarobertson@remax.net
|
 |
|
RE/MAX - Outstanding Agents, Outstanding Results!
    |
||
About the author: I am full-time REALTOR® with RE/MAX Solutions in Springfield, MO, and a member of the Greater Springfield Board of REALTORS®. I have helped hundreds of families in the Springfield, Nixa, Republic and Ozark real estate markets, whether buying a home, or selling a home. Visit my website at www.ozarks-realestate.com to search for All Springfield MO Area MLS listings. Want to know what our market is like? My website is also an excellent resource for current Springfield MO Area Real Estate Market Reports, as well as current market reports for Ozark, Nixa, Republic, and Rogersville.
Many of them (sinkholes) are mapped...uh, what about the unmapped ones? I do applaud you for brining this story to the public. Disclose, disclose, disclose. If I were buying in your area, I would most likely choose you because you bring the downside (pun intended) to the public. The photo alone is a jaw-dropper. What's the thought on the ones nobody was aware of? Possible old mines?
Sherry, many geologists believe that the sinkhole that swallowed Norm Scrivener's home was caused by a draught that resulted in the earth underground shifting and/or collapsing. The same effect can occur in heavy rains and oversaturated earth. Thanks for stopping by!
Is this new GIS viewer something new and is it something that only Christian County has? I do like the idea, what a help for buyers.
Don - if there are GIS viewers for other counties, I haven't found them yet. There are maps, but none as comprehensive as the GIS viewer.
That gives a whole new meaning to a sunken living area...
I hope you have a great day Lina,
Paul
Lina, great post!
Paul - you crack me up!
Jim - thanks!
Lina, thanks for this post. I work more over in Lawrence County & the other rural counties west and north of Springfield, rarely in Christian. I needed to find out if they had a GIS mapping site and couldn't find it anywhere on the county site.
But I found it in your post, which came up in a "Christian County GIS" google search.
And Lawrence County is lawrencecogis.com, in case you ever need it!
Judith - thanks so much for the tip! I had no idea that Lawrence County had one. I wonder if the other surrounding counties do?