Huge sink hole swallows entire 3 story building. *200 foot deep*

[Oneslowz28]

Looks like the earth was hungry down in Guatemala.

Source

The Guatemalan government posted this picture Monday of a massive 200-foot-deep sinkhole in the capital of Guatemala City, which opened after a weekend of heavy rain from tropical storm Agatha.

A three-story building and at least one man were swallowed by its gaping maw, which officials estimate to be 100 feet in diameter.

About 146 people have died across Central America since Agatha’s landfall, with Guatemala reporting most of the casualties, according to the Daily Mail.

Mudslides are mostly to blame, and to make matters worse, officials are saying ash from the Pacaya volcano has blocked drains. Ash is also keeping Guatemala City’s airport closed, which could hamper international aid efforts.

Sinkholes are pretty common in Guatemala, Florida and other spots; just last month, a farmhouse with four people inside collapsed into a sinkhole in St. Jude, Quebec. Sinkholes form in places where the underlying ground layer consists of limestone, salt beds or other soluble rock, which dissolves in water. Groundwater coursing beneath the surface eats away at the rock, slowly eroding and destabilizing it. Often, new underground caves are created, which then collapse in catastrophic scenes like this one.

Unfortunately, not much can be done to prevent the phenomenon -- other than hope you don't get swallowed.

You are now free to discuss massive gaping holes. Just keep it clean and don't mention your own.

[farlo]

that looks photoshopped to me.

[artoodeeto]

my first thought too, but a LOT of sites are carrying the story, including National Geographic....so it's gotta be real right?

[Drum Thumper]

I love some of the coments on Pop Sci on this. This is why we do not divide by zero and I knew the LHC was a bad idea...

[Luke122]

You spelled stink wrong.

[farlo]

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...ole-photo.html

you're right its more believable coming from national geographic

[Airbozo]

That is a different picture from the ones I have seen. Really shows how deep that sucker is. Awesome.

Are they sure a giant worm didn't come out of that hole?

Reminds me of a band name...
...and a description of the lead singer.

Here's a fun fact: My co-worker just left for Guatemala Saturday to do his student teaching there. Good luck with that!

[Zephik]

They look different if you ask me...

[Oneslowz28]

CBS news covered it with a aerial video that looked a lot like that photo

[si-skyline]

Gears of war?