Malibu Sinkhole Threatens to Swallow Hollywood Star Nicolas Cage's House
A large sinkhole has opened up in the Californian city of Malibu, and is threatening to swallow up the home of Hollywood star Nicolas Cage.
The driveway at the front of the property, which reportedly belongs to the National Treasure, Con Air, and Face/Off star, has already fallen below ground. This is due to the approximately 30-by-30-foot sinkhole having emerged after heavy rainfall in the area.
On Monday, the hole had been estimated at around 8ft in size, with residents living nearby telling Los Angeles Magazine that, "at that point, the homeowners were not overly concerned. We thought it could be fixed pretty quickly."
But then "all hell broke loose."
On Tuesday morning, the gap opened up to nearer 30 feet in size, with emergency services being called to the area to attend to a gas leak caused by the event. This widening of the sinkhole is what caused the home’s driveway to collapse, with the building now exposed to further damage.
At least five homes on the street are said to have been deemed unsafe for entry by Malibu City officials, with access limited and the area described as "impassable due to the large portion of the road that has collapsed."
According to the New York Times, Cage bought the property only two years ago for a price of $10.5 million. It stands on stanchions rooted into the oceanbed it mostly hangs over, and it's due to the impact of powerful waves and heavy rain following a hurricane warning that the sinkhole is believed to have started.
Thankfully, no injuries have been reported due to the damage caused.
Nicolas Cage recently insisted that it’s "perfect" that one of his latest projects, Spider-Noir, will only be getting one season's worth of episodes. The Prime Video Spider-show was recently canceled by Amazon after viewing figures were shown to have dropped off after an initially strong start. Since its cancellation, Spider-Noir went on to earn five awards at the Creative Arts Emmys.
"For me, one season is perfect, having said what I wanted to say with this dangerous, innovative, pop-art Spider-Man," Cage told Deadline. "Onwards, upwards, inwards." Here's hoping the sinkhole is sorted before anything else heads inwards as well.
Image credits: David Swanson/AFP via Getty Images, Michael Loccisano/Getty Images.