Giant Sinkhole in Guatemala

[Wingless]

Sorry if its been posted elsewhere >_<

 

A huge sinkhole in Guatemala City (map), Guatemala, crashed into being on Sunday, reportedly swallowing a three-story building—and echoing a similar, 2007 sinkhole in Guatemala.

 

The sinkhole has likely been weeks or even years in the making—floodwaters from tropical storm Agatha caused the sinkhole to finally collapse, scientists say.

 

The sinkhole appears to be about 60 feet (18 meters) wide and about 30 stories deep, said James Currens, a hydrogeologist at the University of Kentucky.

 

(See more photos of the Guatemala City sinkhole, and a Texas sinkhole picture.)

 

Sinkholes are natural depressions that can form when water-saturated soil and other particles become too heavy and cause the roofs of existing voids in the soil to collapse.

 

Another way sinkholes can form is if water enlarges a natural fracture in a limestone bedrock layer. As the crack gets bigger, the topsoil gently slumps, eventually leaving behind a sinkhole.

 

It's unclear which mechanism is behind the 2010 Guatemala sinkhole, but in either case the final collapse can be sudden, Currens said.

 

2010 Guatemala Sinkhole Could Grow

 

A ruptured sewer line is thought to have caused the sinkhole that appeared in Guatemala City in 2007.

 

The 2010 Guatemala sinkhole could have formed in a similar fashion, Currens said. A burst sanitary or storm sewer may have been slowly saturating the surrounding soil for a long time before tropical storm Agatha added to the inundation.

 

"The tropical storm came along and would have dumped even more water in there, and that could have been the final trigger that precipitated the collapse," Currens said.

 

(See Guatemala pictures from National Geographic Traveler magazine.)

 

Depending on the makeup of the subsurface layer, the Guatemala sinkhole "could eventually enlarge and take in more buildings," he said.

 

Typically, officials fill in sinkholes with large rocks and other debris. But the 2010 Guatemala sinkhole "is so huge that it's going to take a lot of fill material to fill it," Currens said.

 

"I don't know what they're going to do."

 

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/06/100601-sinkhole-in-guatemala-2010-world-science/

 

 

Wow, that's really big o_o

[Askthedude]

Who divided by 0? <_<

[obfuscator]

Yeah, I've seen it before, that's insane. I hope they have the common sense to evacuate the area at least and do tests on the nearby sewage systems to see if there is any further risk.

[phillyduck]

Just looking at that is scary. It's like a perfect cylindrical type shape, and then it just falls into a black abyss. Strange how things happen in the world.

[Mdeoxys]

The Silver Surfer anyone?

And yea, that's insanely big!

[Wingless]

Who divided by 0? <_<

 

Guilty D:

[The Dark Lord]

Just imagine... a potential sinkhole could be underneath your feet right now!

[Goonstalf]

I wonder how many overweight kookaburra's could fit in there.

[VEGHATERMEATLOVER]

Its Saumuel Sullivan.

[Saru Inc]

I wonder how many overweight kookaburra's could fit in there.

 

 

Haha.

 

 

Howveer, Was anyone in the building? It was Sunday so perhaps not, I would be freaking out if the building I was in started sinking, or just straight up fell into the earth. That hole looks photoshopped though. I know it isn't, but its so perfectly cylindrical that it doesn't look natural.

 

If this is the 2nd in 3 years, do you think its a Guatemalan sewer line problem? And more are in the making around the town? I'm not really sure how common sinkhols are, but Sinkholes and quicksand both scare the crap out of me L.

[The Dark Lord]

I wonder how many overweight kookaburra's could fit in there.

 

Well, I'm assuming that the average fat kookaburra is 15 inches long, 11 inches high, and 11 inches wide, so let's figure out the volume: 1815 cubed inches.

 

Now, we need to figure out how wide and how deep the sinkhole is. According to the article, it says that it is approximately 30 stories deep and 60 feet wide, assuming it is also 60 feet high. How wide is a story in architecture? According to Google, it is approximately 10 feet.

 

30 stories = 10*30 = 300 feet X 12 = 3600 inches

60 feet = 60 X 12 = 720 inches

Volume = 1,866,240,000 cubed inches

 

1,866,240,000 / 1815 = 1,028,250, rounded up.

 

Roughly 1,028,250 overweight kookaburra's could fit inside the sinkhole.

 

EDIT: I had to readjust my average volume for fat kookaburras because the numbers I was previously using were for underweight kookaburras. Over 10.6 million underweight kookaburras could fit in the sinkhole.

[Goonstalf]

 

Well, I'm assuming that the average kookaburra is 7 inches long, 5 inches high, and 5 inches wide, so let's figure out the volume: 175 cubed inches.

 

Now, we need to figure out how wide and how deep the sinkhole is. According to the article, it says that it is approximately 30 stories deep and 60 feet wide, assuming it is also 60 feet high. How wide is a story in architecture? According to Google, it is approximately 10 feet.

 

30 stories = 10*30 = 300 feet X 12 = 3600 inches

60 feet = 60 X 12 = 720 inches

Volume = 1,866,240,000 cubed inches

 

1,866,240,000 / 175 = 10,664,230, rounded up.

 

Roughly 10,664,230 overweight kookaburra's could fit inside the sinkhole.

 

But is it safe to assume that our overweight kookaburra is the same size as an average kookaburra?

[obfuscator]

Also, are these overweight kookaburras African or European?

[ilya]

What the [bleep] are you guys talking about?

You're more fascinated by an overweight bird than something like this?

(Can't expect more from a Runescape forum though).

 

That's insane, any reports on deaths and such?

 

EDIT: Imagine how much workforce and material it is going to require to fix that and make it stable. How would one even go about doing that?

[The Dark Lord]

 

Well, I'm assuming that the average kookaburra is 7 inches long, 5 inches high, and 5 inches wide, so let's figure out the volume: 175 cubed inches.

 

Now, we need to figure out how wide and how deep the sinkhole is. According to the article, it says that it is approximately 30 stories deep and 60 feet wide, assuming it is also 60 feet high. How wide is a story in architecture? According to Google, it is approximately 10 feet.

 

30 stories = 10*30 = 300 feet X 12 = 3600 inches

60 feet = 60 X 12 = 720 inches

Volume = 1,866,240,000 cubed inches

 

1,866,240,000 / 175 = 10,664,230, rounded up.

 

Roughly 10,664,230 overweight kookaburra's could fit inside the sinkhole.

 

But is it safe to assume that our overweight kookaburra is the same size as an average kookaburra?

 

Its a simple question of weight ratios. A 5 ounce bird would not sink into a 1 pound sinkhole.

 

Also, are these overweight kookaburras African or European?

 

Are you suggesting that kookaburras migrate?

[TTanT]

What the [bleep] are you guys talking about?

You're more fascinated by an overweight bird than something like this?

(Can't expect more from a Runescape forum though).

#-o

 

 

On that note, are kookaburras turning into a new Tip.it meme?

 

OT: I practically had a heart attack looking at that hole.

 

It's things similar to this that made people believe in demons and the underworld back in the day.

[SeanyTheSailor]

It almost looks fake... i believe its real but its and almost perfect circle to my eyes and it just seems to never end....

[gauper_kid]

This is crazy. Its like there's some kind of giant earthworm terrorizing the cities.

 

Part of me wishes that the pictures are all photoshopped, and this is all part of some elaborate hoax.

[sa121]

I was talking to my grandmother about this, and she said only one person was confirmed to have died due to the sinkhole, if anyone was interested. Talked to her yesterday though, stuff might have changed.

[Wingless]

This is crazy. Its like there's some kind of giant earthworm terrorizing the cities.

 

It's all part of Jagex's plan.

They have real life Strykewyrms.

[jamesrules90]

When I saw it I thought it was just done on photoshop. Pretty amazing mind.

[The Observer]

That's really creepy. It just goes into... blackness.

[Dizzle229]

Monty Python references = WIN

 

Skatepank: I agree, they shouldn't be joking. Srs business, the internets.

[1_man_army]

I saw the picture this morning in the newspaper and I thought it was fake at first, it's just so bizarre. I wonder what they'll do with the hole and whether it might get any bigger.

 

 

IT'S AN ALASKAN BULL WORM!

 

Don't be silly it has to be a graboid.

[noble_aloof]

i read that two teenagers, an elderly woman, 13 dogs, 8 cats, 2 leopards, and one kookaburra have gone missing since the sinkhole appeared. a multi-million dollar rescue operation is now underway to save the kookaburra.

 

edit: putting up link soon so you can directly donate to ensure this mission's success. all proceeds will benefit LIPSAK- Legit Indigenous People Saving All Kookaburras