A Virginia woman who has been digging a tunnel under her house and documenting it on the platform TikTok has been ordered to stop because she lacks the proper permits, Herndon officials said.
Known only as “Kala,” the TikToker has garnered millions of views since August 2022 when her project began.
Herndon officials confirmed to WTTG-TV that her house is within the town’s limits and said that “representatives from the building official’s and zoning administrator’s offices conducted a site inspection on Thursday, Dec. 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.”
There is now a stop-work order in place.
“They did give me a stop-work order and are requiring an immediate evaluation by a professional engineer. … It is constructed entirely below the slab of my house and it shouldn’t be too hard to get the permits and approval,” Kala, 37, said in a Dec. 28 video.
One Herndon resident filed a notice to authorities on Dec. 5 once they connected the dots between Kala’s TikTok videos and construction going on near them.
“She [is] building a tunnel. Is this ok for her to do? She has a YouTube channel showing how she’s been doing the tunnel since the beginning of her move. Can someone please look at her tik tock and see if she has the permits,” the unnamed resident said in the filed complaint, according to FFXNow.com.
If the project is allowed to proceed, Kala hopes to use the space as a shelter.
“I wouldn’t say doomsday bunker, because I’m not really a prepper or concerned about that kind of thing at all, but I just thought it would be neat to have like a little protective shelter area,” she told NBC News in November.
Kala also said that, despite her TikTok channel being called “engineer.everything,” she does not have any background in the field.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m concerned about safety or structural stability. For the most part, 99.9%, everything has gone according to plan and according to my engineering. There have been a few very, very minor mishaps,” Kala told NBC News.
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