[26], Update: Checking Google satellite imagery history via Google Earth, the refilling of the hole, and paving could be seen in progress in August 2011 with traffic seen by March 2012. Guatemala was the worst affected country, with a confirmed death toll of 92, although that is likely to rise when rescuers reach remote villages. Human activity, such as construction, can also lead to the same consequence. [7][8] The 2007 Guatemala City sinkhole was formed by fluid from a sewer eroding uncemented volcanic ash, limestone, and other pyroclastic deposits underlying Guatemala City. However, another technique, which geologists call the graded-filter technique, in which the sinkhole is filled with successive layers of boulders, smaller rocks, and gravel, could possibly be a better solution. A NOTE ABOUT RELEVANT ADVERTISING: We collect information about the content (including ads) you use across this site and use it to make both advertising and content more relevant to you on our network and other sites. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), schools in Guatemala were to be closed until at least June 4. Playing next. This is the scene in Guatemala after a 200ft deep sink hole swallowed up a three-storey building. [23] On May 31, the government started to deploy national aid, and donation centers for victims of the storm were opened across the country. Nine people were confirmed killed in El Salvador and 12 in Honduras. Many homes and bridges were destroyed across the country. [3] In addition, according to Bonis, sinkholes are usually formed from limestone but there is no limestone hundreds of metres underneath Guatemala City. The enormous crater appeared in the Central American country's capital, Guatemala City, as it was being ravaged by torrential rain and mudslides during Tropical Storm Agatha. This substance was also used to fill in the 2007 Guatemala City sinkhole. [3] Bonis also says that the Guatemala City sinkhole is a misnomer: sinkholes have natural causes, but this one was mainly artificial. [25] This is because filling the hole in with cement diverts water runoff to other areas, potentially increasing the risk of sinkholes occurring in other parts of the city. However, another technique, which geologists call the graded-filter technique, in which the sinkhole is filled with successive layers of boulders, smaller rocks, and gravel, could possibly be a better solution. [3] Bonis proposes that the sinkhole be renamed a piping feature. [23] On May 31, the government started to deploy national aid, and donation centers for victims of the storm were opened across the country. The 30m-diameter sinkhole opened up in a northern district of Guatemala City, with residents blaming the rains and substandard drainage systems. [3] Bonis proposes that the sinkhole be renamed a piping feature. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. [17] The eruption prompted officials to shut down the country's international airport. A giant sinkhole caused by the rains of tropical storm Agatha is seen in Guatemala City June 1, 2010. [12], The sinkhole formed due to volcanic pumice deposits, upon which Guatemala City is built. In those so-called "karst" areas, caves and voids form underground as the rocks dissolve, he said. "A lot of us who study sinkholes look at this and go, 'wow,' it does seem a little bit bizarre," said Randall C. Orndorff, a program coordinator with the U.S. Geological Survey. "It was found that it was due to sewer arrangements of the city, which had undermined the area. "I've got no one to help me. The 2010 Guatemala City sinkhole was a disaster in which an area approximately 65 ft (20 m) across and 300 ft (90 m) deep collapsed in Guatemala City's Zona 2, swallowing a three-story factory. Follow. [15] By the morning of May 30, the center of Agatha moved over the highest terrain in Central America, resulting in the dissipation of the low-level circulation. Tropical storm Agatha, the first of the Pacific hurricane season, which pounded Guatemala, caused widespread flooding and devastation, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes. [24], Immediately after the sinkhole's collapse, there were plans to fill it in with a soil cement made from cement, limestone, and water known locally as lodocreto ("mudcrete"). A massive sinkhole has been left in the wake of Tropical Storm Agatha in Guatemala swallowing several buildings. [5], Overall, the risk of sinkholes occurring in Guatemala City is high and unpredictable. The 2010 Guatemala City sinkhole was a disaster in which an area approximately 65 ft (20 m) across and 300 ft (90 m) deep collapsed in Guatemala City's Zona 2, swallowing a three-story factory. In Estelí Department, the Nicaraguan Air Force had to rescue 24 people trapped in their homes. [25] This is because filling the hole in with cement diverts water runoff to other areas, potentially increasing the risk of sinkholes occurring in other parts of the city. [3] Bonis also says that the Guatemala City sinkhole is a misnomer: sinkholes have natural causes, but this one was mainly artificial. [3], Tropical Storm Agatha was first identified as a trough of low pressure of the western coast of Costa Rica on May 24, 2010. Electricity poles were also sucked in. DOWNPOURS caused by Tropical Storm Agatha have created a giant sinkhole in Guatemala City, while throughout Guatemala officials have reported 120 dead and at least 53 missing. [6] One recent, similar sinkhole had collapsed in 2007, forming a pit 100 metres deep. [18] Upon the formation of Agatha, people feared that excessive rainfall from the storm could exacerbate the situation and trigger lahars. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. Three people were killed in … [26], Update: Checking Google satellite imagery history via Google Earth, the refilling of the hole, and paving could be seen in progress in August 2011 with traffic seen by March 2012. Tue 1 Jun 2010 01.33 BST RTÉ is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. [7][8] The hazards around the pipe have since then been mitigated, by improved handling of the city's wastewater and runoff. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), schools in Guatemala were to be closed until at least June 4. I watched the water take everything," Carlota Ramos told Reuters outside her mud-swamped brick house in Amatitlán, a town near the Guatemalan capital. Guatemalan sinkhole which collapsed in 2007, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, "Guatemala City sinkhole so big, so round it 'doesn't seem real, "Killer Sinkholes: Unexpected Holes Swallow Entire Families, Cars And Homes (PHOTOS)", "Guatemala Sinkhole Created by Humans, Not Nature", "Sinkhole in Guatemala: Giant Could Get Even Bigger", "Don't Call The Guatemala Sinkhole a Sinkhole", "Photo in the News: Giant Sinkhole Swallows Guatemala Homes", "Tropical Storm Agatha Public Advisory Two", "Tropical Storm Agatha Tropical Cyclone Update", "Tropical Depression Agatha Discussion Five (Final)", "Guatemala Volcano: Pacaya Eruption Kills TV Reporter, 3 Missing (PHOTOS)", "Guatemala girds for first Pacific storm of season", "Hundimientos atraen a la prensa extranjera", "Pacific storm Agatha's rains kill four in Guatemala", "América Central - Tormenta Tropical Agatha Informe de Situación #1", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2010_Guatemala_City_sinkhole&oldid=960647497, Wikipedia articles in need of updating from October 2019, All Wikipedia articles in need of updating, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 4 June 2020, at 03:37.