LeetPirate Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Did you guys hear about this in the news as yet?Source.(CNN) -- Residents of a center-city neighborhood in Guatemala City, Guatemala, are still in shock after a massive sinkhole opened last weekend, gobbling several buildings and nearly an entire intersection, according to local officials. Over the weekend, the nearly perfect cylindrical crater developed and consumed whatever was on its surface, including structures and utility lines. There were no reports of deaths related to the sinkhole. The sinkhole's destruction added to the tragic events in Central America related to Tropical Storm Agatha, which left a death toll of more than 175 people in the region that includes Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The 20-meter (about 66 feet) diameter sinkhole is about 30 meters (about 100 feet) deep. Guatemala City's human rights ombudsman, Sergio Morales, confirmed reports that since 2005, residents in the area had complained of rumblings, fissures and sinking terrain. "Yes, we can attest that they have been complaining since 2005 and we are looking into the initial complaints, " said Morales. "We are looking into the original response by municipal authorities," he said. In an interview with the newspaper Prensa Libre, neighborhood association president Augusto Lopez Rincon said he believed that excessive traffic caused by commercial trucks was to blame for the sinkhole. Gallery: Agatha wreaks havoc on Central America There are unconfirmed reports that the street's infrastructure was weakened by the storms, officials said. David Monterroso, geology director of Guatemala's Disaster Relief Agency, told Prensa Libre there should be an in-depth analysis of the soil consistency to determine how many houses near the sinkhole are still in danger of collapsing. He said according to preliminary studies, the bottom of the sinkhole is irregular and that sewers and water lines may have contributed to the sinkhole's formation. The size and shape of the crater led some of the more than 1,000 readers posting comments on the story on CNN.com to debate how it could have formed and whether it was even real. "The picture looks unreal, 'Photoshoped' but it may just look that strange," OhioInd posted. Edhead76 replied: "Believe me this picture is no fake. Guatemala has a very odd terrain. They have a lot of mountainous regions and the capital is somewhat level, but artificially. they have mudslides all the time." According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), sinkholes are common where the rock below the land surface is limestone, carbonate rock, salt beds or rocks that can naturally be dissolved by ground water circulating through them. One local resident believes ground water has something to do with the sinkhole. "It sounds like there's a river down there," said business owner Armando Gomez. "I don't think that the earth gave way and that was that. There's something else that caused it." USGS studies show that new sinkholes have emerged recently as a result of land-use practices such as ground-water pumping, and from construction and development practices. In 2007, another sinkhole claimed three lives in Barrio San Antonio in Guatemala City. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator DKT27 Posted June 2, 2010 Administrator Share Posted June 2, 2010 Wow amazing. Never saw/heard anything like this before. :blink:Sad about the deaths though. :mellow: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanjoa Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 I've heard of it tomorrow morning. :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jalaffa Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Scary stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shought Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 I did notice it in the news earlier...My questions is: where the hell do these holes end?I believe they are created by pressure from gas, but then again why is it a circle, and not a bubble? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeetPirate Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share Posted June 2, 2010 I did notice it in the news earlier...My questions is: where the hell do these holes end?I believe they are created by pressure from gas, but then again why is it a circle, and not a bubble?Man don't you know anything? :P Those holes are cylindrical because Galactus dug into them when he tried to devour the Earth, Silver Surfer warded him off and then the Fantastic Four did a shoddy job of sealing the holes. Now we know why their tv series got terminated prematurely. :DI believe the article said the holes are about 100ft deep but the cylindrical part I have no idea. Kinda cool and freaky at the same time. :ph34r::fear: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Owl Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Yeah, I saw this on the news last night. Very strange indeed!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atasas Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Cool! I love it!:evil: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tunerz Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Gotta say the sinkhole picturelooks so unreal, I can't believe it's not Photoshopped. :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shought Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Gotta say the sinkhole picturelooks so unreal, I can't believe it's not Photoshopped. :blink:Same thought running through my mind here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuthut Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 Reminds me of Aliens vs. Predators. The scene where the predators shot a hole into Antarctica to open the portal to the underground pyramid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myidisbb Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 they can throw Joran van der Sloot bas!@#$ at least two time murder into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tucker Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 a par 5 hole anyone? But seriously, where did all the soil go? :think: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i-con Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 This is kinda scary but looks amazing at the same time. Thought it was shopped for a moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoYB Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 It seems this has happened, at least, once before in 2007.Check it out: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwerta Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Gotta say the sinkhole picturelooks so unreal, I can't believe it's not Photoshopped. :blink:it real Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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