Since the 200mm of rain that fell in what was a very wet December in the 2480 postcode, potholes have been popping up like new case of coronavirus.

Some potholes like the top of Rotary Drive or Ravenswood Drive in Goonellabah are irritating but not lethal or capable of major damage. It should be noted that Rotary Drive was fixed but has already shown signs of wear and tear.

Local business owner Nick Contojohn lives in Caniaba and drives to work on one of the true pothole black spots on Caniaba Road. Nick sent the Lismore App a photo of one of the potholes that exist. To emphasise how deep the pothole is a can of coke is placed inside the deepest point, astonishingly you can see that the top of the can is near the roads surface.

"That hole is half a metre wide and a metre long," Nick said, "there is half a dozen more on that same stretch of road just like it."

Does a pothole that size do damage to your car?

"We have done two rims and two tyres already totalling about $2,500 costs to get them fixed."

"The problem is not so much the cost but people's safety now," Nick added.

"When we get decent rain those potholes go under water and you can't see them. We also get a lot of motorcycle riders on Caniaba Road, if one of them hits one of those large potholes they will one hundred percent come off."

"At the moment we are timing when we need to pass the pothole with other traffic to avoid any more damage. You need to weave around."

Nick wasn't the only victim either. He knows of a female p-plater who suffered the same fate as well as many residents on the Caniaba/Perradenya Estate Community facebook page. There are many more stories: Sophie Laing saying "I busted mine last night" (4 days ago), Darlene Armfield said "I travel Coraki Road did 2 tyres and rims" and Kylie Parker said "I burst 2 tyres on the sharp edge of the road near the school."

Lismore City Council have sent a list of roads to the Lismore App that will receive temporary road patching over the next two weeks:

• Rock Valley Road
• Cawongla Road
• Mackie Road
• Rosebank Road
• Tatham Road
• Coraki Road
• Caniaba Road

That is some good news for residents on Caniaba Road as well as many others on our country roads.

If you want to report a pothole/s to council push on this link and complete the form. If council don't know they can't fix it.

Nick and the other victims of large and dangerous potholes have sent an application into Lismore City Council seeking reimbursement for damaged tyres and rims. Council will look into each claim separately.

Many people are asking "what causes a pothole?"

From LCC's website, heavy traffic or natural ageing causes cracks in the pavement. Rainwater seeps through these cracks into the base material beneath.The vibration of traffic causes the wet base material to settle or shift, forming a cavity.