Guatemala - A 330-foot-deep sinkhole kills three...
 

This absolutely incredible!

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/1174/sinkholeny5.jpg

More info. & pic's, here:

http://www.ordena.com/digg/sinkhole.html

edit: add another photo -


http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/6...lephotojz0.jpg



_

i lived there in the 60's - seen it happen before - pretty intense what rain will do

edit: as i recall, member ironman lives there

how soon before somebody goes down in there.....

Thats just crazy. wonder if they heard anything happening before it happened. maybe some creeking or cracking as the ground settled below them or what.

Well.. now they've got a set for Descent 2.. :eek:

That shit is crazy deep

At first glance, i thought it was just an inkblot on a picture of a town.

And you say it was caused by rain?

Amazing feat of nature!

Astounding report and coverage of it as well.

Mechanisms of formation may include the gradual removal of slightly soluble bedrock (such as limestone) by percolating water, the collapse of a cave roof, or a lowering of the water table.

...Sinkholes may capture surface drainage for running or a standing water, but may also form in currently high and dry locations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinkhole

Yeah, this happened here a few months ago in a very populated area of Guatemala city. Neighbors reported tremors and noises for several weeks prior to the catastrophe.
When the earth collapsed, there was an ongoing investigation on what was causing the tremors and noises as Guatemala is an earthquake prone area. Just two days before the accident it was announced that it had nothing to do with natural causes but that the sewage system had to be checked, and then one night the earth simply collapsed.
It has already been determined that the accident was cause by a sewer area that got obstructed by years and years of sediments and trash and no maintenance by the municipal government. A very sad occurrence i must say. But the saddest thing about this is that it's been over two months since it happened and the hole is still there, the central and the municipal governments do not end to agree on who is going to pay for the repairs, go figure....

Evidently it is thought that this will eventually happen in the US:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...ome-commentary