VIRGINIA, USA — Since 2022, a Northern Virginia woman has been digging under her home, and documenting the process for her more than 500,000 TikTok followers. Some of her most popular videos have millions of views.
In one video she calls herself "Kala the Science Girl" but she's better known in the social media world as "Tunnel Girl".
Her earliest video was posted on October 23, 2022. In it, she talks about how she's decided to "embark on a new and complex project. I'm planning to construct a storm shelter off the side of my basement".
She shows her progress on the 'tunnel' and some of her setbacks. In one video she shows a fire, and says it was "caused by welding steel forms".
In her most recent video, which has more than a million views, she details how her tunnel project has been shut down.
"They did give me a stop work order and are requiring an immediate evaluation by a professional engineer. Fortunately contrary to rumors here, it is constructed entirely below the slab of my house and it shouldn't be too hard to get the permits and approval," she says in the video.
WUSA9 stopped by her home in Northern Virginia Tuesday night, to speak with her about what she's been doing. She told WUSA9 she couldn't comment but later sent a statement saying:
“I’m hopeful that the attention will die down and that I will be able to work with the city and get the proper permits to continue work."
Some have posted to social media calling it dangerous, not only to her but also to her neighbors.
"It's definitely a first," said a man named David, who answered the door at a home across from her home.
He told WUSA9 that he would see her from time to time, but she mostly kept to herself. He said she and the others who live in the home moved in a couple of years ago.
"It's concerning during the day that there's a lot of noise being made but nothing that would truly bother us to call the authorities in any way," he said.
He later told WUSA9 he was a little concerned about the lack of safety measures she appeared to be taking in her videos, and worried it may have risked his or his neighbors' lives.
A spokesperson for the town where she lives shared the following statement with WUSA9 on Tuesday.
Received notice that activity in potential violation of the Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) was occurring at a residential property within the town’s corporate limits. As is standard protocol following such notifications, representatives from the building official’s and zoning administrator’s offices conducted a site inspection on Thursday, December 7, 2023. The town is working with the property owner to correct any violations and ensure that the property is safe and in compliance with the code.
The woman, who goes by "Kala", posted to TikTok that she believes the permits will be approved for her to continue her tunnel.
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