Welcome early to another Chicago area family!! I am assuming you're speaking of the mansion in Long Grove that blew up! That was pretty scary for sure. Love the Long Grove area and went there often as I lived in Arlington Hgts. for many years but was born and raised in Chicago. Good Luck on you move when it happens, you'll love this little piece of heaven. I miss a lot the Chicago area has to offer but definitely NOT the snow....LOL Again Welcome!

Yup, Long Grove. We're in Vernon Hills (not far from a Portillo's), and being 4 miles away that explosion made us jump in our bed. On a happy note, we may be putting an offer in on a house in TV today even though we won't be retiring until next year. Maybe one day we will meet and compare snow stories. I feel like I need a shirt that says "I survived the Chicago winter of 2014".

We had the same concerns but also have decided that things happen everywhere. I was wondering though if there is any thing a potential home buyer can do to at least ease their mind that a big problem isn't just looming out there. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks

One option.

See video of block-long sinkhole devouring cars in a Baltimore residential area with bystanders filming. The last few seconds are unimaginable....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SlgTrS4cRA

Actually it was not a sinkhole but a landslide
 

From "The Science Times" (link below). Ditto from National Geographic (their explanation via hyperlink below).

They claim it was NOT a sinkhole but a standard "landslide".........horrific occurrence.

""On Wednesday on an urban block in Baltimore, local TV news crews rushed to the site of a disaster: Several cars and half the street had tumbled into a railway ravine. No one was injured in what they took to calling the "Baltimore Sinkhole".

In fact, this was no sinkhole. Just your standard landslide — one that residents of that street had seen coming for a while. "My wife and I haven't been parking on that side of the street for years because we knew it was going to happen," one local resident told The Baltimore Sun. So how did it happen, and why all of a sudden on Wednesday?

A landslide is a more straightforward geological phenomenon than a sinkhole. The key ingredients are soil, a hillside, gravity, and a catalyst to get the whole thing moving. Earthquakes and explosives used in mining can do it by rattling the earth loose; seismic activity is among the most common causes. Chopping down trees can do it, too, by killing roots that help anchor the soil in place. In this case, initial reports have suggested that the cause was a lot of rain, and a weak retaining wall that was supposed to keep the hill from rolling onto the CSX tracks below. When the ground becomes saturated with water, it becomes heavier and gravity does the rest.

The mayor of Baltimore said city engineers were reviewing maintenance reports to find out if it could have been prevented. Residents said they'd seen a crack emerge in the pavement long before the hill gave way. No one was injured in this landslide, unlike the recent one in Washington that killed 29 people. In that case, some had speculated that logging or an earthquake caused it. But the U.S. Geological Survey concluded the cause there was also heavy rain.

A sinkhole is a different story. There was the infamous one a year ago in Florida in which a man was sleeping in his Tampa-area home when the Earth opened up beneath his bedroom. He died in a 30-feet-deep by 30-feet-wide hole in the ground. Florida is especially prone to sinkholes because of the limestone that underlies most of the state. But there are other types of rock that can lead to sinkholes, which can happen anywhere from Montana to Texas to New York. When acidic groundwater eats away at layers of rock beneath the soil, the rock can collapse like thin ice, pulling down everything above it.

Dozens of people have been posting pictures of the Baltimore landslide on Twitter, as CSX races to clean up the damage.""""

http://www.isciencetimes.com/articles/7138/20140501/baltimore-sinkhole-actually-landslide-happen-video.htm

International Science Times: Baltimore sinkhole was actually a landslide

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/05/140502-baltimore-sinkhole-landslide-geology-science/

Ditto. National Geographic says sinkhole was a landslide
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Vermont also had major road and bridge destruction due to heavy rains after a tropical storm a few years back. There is a difference between a landslide vs. a "sinkhole" as well as a difference between a pothole and a sinkhole. Horrific no matter what it's called. Above article is from the "SCIENCE TIMES".

I added National Geographic links plus Science Times links
 

I added the hyperlink to the International Science Times.
Ditto....I added the hyperlink to NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.
Both said that the Baltimore "sinkhole" was really a landslide.
Their links explain the difference between a landslide and a sinkhole.


No matter what one calls the Baltimore catastrophe, it was terrible to view on t.v. and no doubt even worse to witness in person.

Why has no one talked about a tsunami hitting The Villages? Or an earthquake? How about a devastating winter storm? A deep freeze that cripples commerce? An out of control fire? There are many other threats besides what people discussed here. If you let fear rule your life you will never get to experience all the wonderful things this wonderful world has to offer. That is just my opinion, no pretense of stating any human or cosmological truths.

Right. And regardless of the technical term for the block-long HOLE that suddenly appaered in this Baltimore residential area, it's a hole that will affect people's peace of mind living by it, and fears about "sinking" property values and inability to sell homes.

You could probably get a really good buy there right now and avoid The Villages entirely.

Thankfully, there is no way a tsunami could reach The Villages
 

Thankfully, there is no way a tsunami could reach The Villages, being so far inland. Earthquakes? I have no knowledge of that possibility with regards to Florida.

I really doubt that people allow fear to rule their lives.
I know the majority of us do experience all the wonderful things that our world has to offer. We are all blessed. You are correct.

However, knowing the facts........and living in fear are two different things.

The national news does like the scarier headlines
 

I doubt if too many folks will be flocking to Baltimore any time soon.........but then again, with climate change, so many of our states have experienced similar "landslides" after days of torrential rains. The seasons are no longer predictable, no matter where one chooses to live.

I agree with National Geographic and the International Science Times perspective on the "landslide" vs. "sinkhole" description.

So do many others I have spoken to.

You are correct that what happened in Baltimore will affect people's peace of mind, etc, etc., etc.

The 2 articles I posted above in no way diminishes the horror it was to the neighborhood where it occurred, or those who witnessed that landslide......a total nightmare for sure.

Here's a message I just received......

"""I said the same thing the first time that Diane Sawyer called it a "SINKHOLE" on the evening news. """

"""It was a "Landslide" and not a "Sinkhole". If a reporter covers a story they should use the proper words and names to describe the situation. """

"""Using improper descriptions because it sounds better is totally wrong, Diane Sawyer does this all the time, using improper words at least once a week, for scarier headlines."""