It’s the stuff scary movies are made of: Don’t look under the bed, or you’ll fall through a giant chasm in the earth.
But for a woman in Guatemala City, it was all too real. On Monday, 65-year-old Inocenta Hernandez was shocked by a loud boom, which she assumed was the explosion of a neighbor’s gas canister.
Instead, it was a sinkhole 40 feet deep and 32 inches in diameter that had formed beneath her bed, the Guardian reports.
Guatemala City is prone to sinkholes because it is built on volcanic deposits and has heavy rain. But sinkholes, or depressions in the earth formed by natural erosion, can be found worldwide. Sinkholes can occur over time or suddenly, and range from three to 2,000 feet both in diameter and depth. They can swallow three story buildings when they form. Or cars with people still inside them.
But for a woman in Guatemala City, it was all too real. On Monday, 65-year-old Inocenta Hernandez was shocked by a loud boom, which she assumed was the explosion of a neighbor’s gas canister.
Guatemala City is prone to sinkholes because it is built on volcanic deposits and has heavy rain. But sinkholes, or depressions in the earth formed by natural erosion, can be found worldwide. Sinkholes can occur over time or suddenly, and range from three to 2,000 feet both in diameter and depth. They can swallow three story buildings when they form. Or cars with people still inside them.
