Home emergency playbook
Sinkhole signs in yard or driveway
Conservative first steps for homeowners before cleanup, repair, or contractor dispatch. When safety is uncertain, leave and call first.
Immediate steps
- Call the utility emergency line first before hiring private repair.
- Keep people, pets, and vehicles away from depressions, cracking pavement, tilted trees, or suddenly draining soil.
- Mark a wide perimeter with cones, chairs, or tape without stepping near the edge.
- Call the municipality, utility, or foundation professional depending on whether public lines, storm drains, or private structures are nearby.
Do not do this
- Do not fill the depression with gravel, concrete, branches, or soil before the cause is identified.
- Do not drive mowers, delivery vehicles, or dumpsters over the area.
- Do not let children play near cracks that may widen under the surface.
Who to call
- Call 911 if anyone is injured, trapped, in medical distress, or if fire, shock, collapse, or active crime is present.
- Call the utility emergency line before private repair when gas, electric service, public water, sewer main, or buried lines may be involved.
- Call a foundation contractor or structural engineer for movement, cracks, settlement, drainage, or stabilization planning.
Damage mitigation
- Photograph the depression from a distance and include nearby utility covers, drains, foundations, and fences.
- Redirect foot traffic, downspouts, and irrigation away from the unstable soil.
- Save utility locate tickets, municipal case numbers, and geotechnical or plumbing camera findings.
Prevention
- Repair leaking water, sewer, and storm lines before soil washes out underground.
- Keep heavy loads away from old septic tanks, dry wells, and buried cisterns.
- Maintain grading so roof runoff does not concentrate near foundations or pavement edges.
Typical cost band
Usually high to very high because utility protection, soil investigation, fill, paving, or foundation work may be needed.
Insurance note
Sinkhole, earth movement, and utility-collapse coverage varies widely; written cause findings are essential before permanent fill or repair.
Related ProFix resources
Foundation Repair Contractor emergency guideTrade-specific dispatch, utility-first, and after-hours cost guidance.Troubleshooting encyclopediaSymptoms, maintenance intervals, contracts, and warranty norms.National FAQHiring, licensing, scams, permits, and DIY boundaries.Cost calculatorPlan the permanent repair after the emergency is controlled.