Guatemala sinkhole threatens to swallow widow

Agence France-Presse reports that 65-year-old Guatemala City widow Inocenta Hernandez awoke late Monday to the noise of what she assumed was the blast of a cooking fuel canister. Eventually, she recognized a 40-foot sinkhole had opened and was threatening to swallow her in her bed, reports AFP. The gaping maw was 40 feet deep and 32 inches around. Source for this article - Sinkhole opens under a bed in Guatemala by Newsytype.com.

Sinkholes widespread in Guatemala

While Hernandez' room sinkhole was frightening, it was by no means a unique occurrence in Guatemala. Homes and automobiles were taken down a sinkhole 330 feet deep killing three people in 2007. Many ended up being evacuated. It took days. Guatemala City ends up with many sinkholes when tropical storms are over, according to Gather. The city is more prone to sinkholes as well since it is built on volcanic deposits and has a leaky sewer system.

Hernandez assumed the noise came from outside

After the noise hit, Inocenta Hernandez and her grandkids went to see what the noise was outside. She figured it was either a gasoline container blast or a traffic accident.

"We rushed out to look and saw nothing," she told Guatemala City reporters. "A gentleman told me that the noise came from my house, and we searched until we found it under my bed."

The sinkhole did not injure anyone. Still, Hernandez will likely have to move. She said that she was glad there was only material damage.

"Thank God there are only material damages because my grandchildren were running around the house, into that room and out to the patio," she said.

Understanding sinkholes

When karst processes and suffusion happens, sinkholes will occur naturally as a part of earth's natural depressions in the surface, as reported by Wikipedia. When they take place, it is typically with no warning. They're also 3 to 2,000 feet across.

Guatemalans know sinkholes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGkDouBVoLs

Information from

AFP: http://bit.ly/pmwLtE
Gather.com: http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979688660
Inquisitr: http://www.inquisitr.com/127974/sinkhole-opens-up-under-guatemalan-woman...
Sinkhole Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinkhole