Yet another sinkhole has opened up next to the White House, confirming that the only department unaffected by the shutdown is the department of obvious metaphors. (And that the Hellmouth has moved from Sunnydale to DC). So far during Trump's presidency, sinkholes have opened up on the White House lawn and his famous Mar-a-Lago resort, in what even scientists are starting to suspect is a targeted attack by a vengeful god. This time, God was a little off the mark and hit just a block away from the president. - - - The Internet has responded predictably to the sinkhole, linking it to the president and/or impending apocalypse in every way they possibly can. - And joking that the damned thing keeps missing its target. - - Sinkholes are common in areas where rock underneath the road is easily dissolved by water (such as limestone and gypsum). During heavy rainfall, this can dissolve the ground beneath the surface of a road or sidewalk, whilst the surface remains intact. Eventually, when the rock underneath is sufficiently dissolved that it can no longer support the ground above, it'll collapse, forming a sinkhole. However, at this point, nobody is willing to dismiss the idea that Hell just wants its man back, or that Melania's escape tunnel has caved in. So, enjoy some of the best Twitter jokes about it before the Hellmouth opens up proper. - - - - - - - -<doc-sep>A sinkhole opened up near the White House on Tuesday and Twitter wags immediately brought the gags. D.C. Police shared a photo of the depression in the ground just one block away from President Donald Trump’s official residence: Update Street Bridge/Maintenance and DDOT ROP crews are en route for repairs and traffic control Motorists can utilize 18th St, 15th St, K St, Virginia Ave, Constitution Ave as alternative pic.twitter.com/VRno3fTBjR — DC Police Traffic (@DCPoliceTraffic) January 22, 2019 Sinkhole just opened up on 17th street NW, one block away from the White House! pic.twitter.com/JjSMA1gm1I — Sergio Gor (@SergioGor) January 22, 2019 In response, Tweeters cracked jokes about the significance of the sinkhole appearing during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history and noted the many others that had formed during Trump’s time in office: Unfortunately the Metaphor Department is furloughed. — Jimmi S (@JimmyHSands) January 22, 2019 2017: Sinkhole opens up at Mar-a-Lago. 2018: Sinkhole opens up on White House lawn. 2019: Today, a sinkhole opened up a block away from the White House. Hell wants their demon back. — Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) January 23, 2019 As a second sinkhole opens up near the White House, Trump is desperately renegotiating with the netherworld for for two more years on the human plane https://t.co/Axrd08TP6O — Jeff Yang (@originalspin) January 23, 2019 Is that where Mitch McConnell is? — Pat Tracy (@pattracy2) January 22, 2019 The portal has opened. More are coming. We. Are. Doomed. https://t.co/8HLnjjGY2R — Sunjeev Bery (@SunjeevBery) January 23, 2019 Apparently a large sinkhole just opened in the street right by the White House, right after the Super Blood Wolf Moon. Once again, it just feels like the writers are being lazy with all this on-the-nose symbolism. — matt blaze (@mattblaze) January 23, 2019 First a sinkhole opened up at Mar-a-Lago. Today a sinkhole opened up near the @WhiteHouse. I think Satan is out to drag Trump to hell. https://t.co/txUbJUMw2L — (((Alan Rosenblatt, PhD))) #BidenHarris2020 (@DrDigiPol) January 23, 2019 Sinkhole Opens Up Inside White House pic.twitter.com/FLkzdGN9W3 — Mike Deni-Son of Frankenstein 💀🧠 (@mikd33) January 23, 2019 Ugh even earth is done with attempting to be subtle lol — Lanaaaaa (@LAnatra_) January 22, 2019 The devil is coming!!! ⚡️ “A sinkhole opens up near the White House”https://t.co/zM0QDDJLsx — Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) January 23, 2019 This scene could be the opener for a political-swamp thriller,"the #shutdown sinkhole." https://t.co/urnzCN1n4s — jane velasco (@gladysclyde) January 22, 2019 A sign of things to come — crazyhorse (@crazyhorse2126) January 23, 2019 That’s one way to drain the swamp — Pandemic at the Disco (@TheBosha) January 22, 2019<doc-sep>A sinkhole opened up on Tuesday afternoon in the road a block away from White House grounds in Washington, D.C. D.C. police said in a tweet that 17th Street NW between C and E streets NW was closed in both directions because of the sinkhole. Traffic Alert *17th St NW btw C St and E St NW is CLOSED-Off in both directions; Large Sinkhole forming in the roadway Watch for MPD Directions - DDOT en route — DC Police Traffic (@DCPoliceTraffic) January 22, 2019 Sergio Gor, a staffer for Sen. Rand Paul Randal (Rand) Howard PaulRand Paul responds to Colbert on vaccines: 'Try to ignore your bias' Suspicious package sent to Rand Paul home appears nontoxic, sheriff says Rand Paul receives suspicious package containing white powder at home MORE (R-Ky.), tweeted a photo of the sinkhole. The road appeared to buckle near the corner of 17th and D streets NW, with the crater taking up roughly one traffic lane. Sinkhole just opened up on 17th street NW, one block away from the White House! pic.twitter.com/JjSMA1gm1I — Sergio Gor (@SergioGor) January 22, 2019 A sinkhole formed last summer on the north White House lawn near the entrance to the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room. The hole was cordoned off, excavated and repaired over the course of roughly a week last May. The District Department of Transportation was en route to the sinkhole on Tuesday afternoon.<doc-sep>
A large sinkhole has opened up in the road about a block away from the White House, the The Washington Post reported. Police in Washington D.C. have said in a tweet that the hole had closed 17th Street NW between C and E streets NW in both directions. In images of the hole shared online, the street appears to have warped just a short distance from the corner of 17th and D streets NW. The depression in the road took up around one lane of traffic. A diversion route around the hole has been signposted, according to the D.C. police tweet. Authorities have said commuters should use 18th, 15th and K streets as well as Virginia and Constitutional avenues to avoid a traffic snarl-up near the hole. Update Street Bridge/Maintenance and DDOT ROP crews are en route for repairs and traffic control Motorists can utilize 18th St, 15th St, K St, Virginia Ave, Constitution Ave as alternative pic.twitter.com/VRno3fTBjR — DC Police Traffic (@DCPoliceTraffic) January 22, 2019 The sinkhole has not escaped the attention of the city's politicos. According to The Hill, Sergio Gor, a staffer for Senator Rand Paul, tweeted a message alerting his followers to the crater. "Sinkhole just opened up on 17th Street NW, one block away from the White House!" he wrote. In May a sinkhole opened up a little closer to the White House, seeming to threaten swallowing the North Lawn. That pit was first noticed by White House correspondents. It opened up just next to the press briefing room and continued to grow. Later a second depression grew next to it, the Washington Post reported. Sinkholes tend to be caused by increased rainfall. Following dramatic downpours, massive crevices in the earth have swallowed streets, vehicles and even buildings. They most usually occur when water enters the soil and loosens the sediment layer enough to send it into lower-lying gaps in the earth. Sinkholes appear to be following President Donald Trump. In the summer of 2017 another hole opened up outside the president's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. The sinkhole measured roughly four feet by four feet, much larger than the two more recent holes that have appeared in D.C. Local officials blamed the sudden appearance of the massive crater on a newly installed water main. Repair crews have already begun work on the 17th Street NW.