OT - Astounding Guatemala Sinkhole

[ricki]

Speaking of karst features and blue holes, here's a close relative that just formed in Guatemala. A sinkhole in English, referred to locally as a hundimiento and just appeared in the news. It is an amazing and terrifying sight for residents. Another outgrowth of Tropical Storm Agatha and all the horrible losses related to its passage over Central America.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/gobiernodeguatemala/


"Storm Opens Giant Sinkhole in Guatemala City
(June 1) -- It looks like a gateway to hell. A 200-foot-deep sinkhole in the north of Guatemala City suddenly opened up in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Agatha, pulling a three-story building and a residential home into the bowels of the earth.

The colossal chasm is just the latest sign of the chaos caused by this weekend's wild and violent weather, which killed at least 145 people across Central America. Agatha dumped more than three feet of rain on Guatemala and El Salvador over the weekend, causing rivers to burst their banks and hills to collapse into floods of slurry. The sinkhole, a nearly perfect circular shaft wider than a street intersection, appeared soon after the storm stopped lashing the capital.

So far, only one person -- a local security guard -- is thought to have died when the ground gave way. However, according to La Hora, authorities have not yet confirmed any fatalities. " Continued at: http://www.aolnews.com/world/article...-city/19498396



http://www.flickr.com/photos/gobiernodeguatemala/


There are still many more photos of damage caused by TS Agatha at the government site at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gobiernodeguatemala/


More about this tragedy at: http://translate.google.com/translat...as/408769.html
and
http://translate.google.com/translat...urri%25F3.html