A cavernous and almost perfectly round sinkhole swallowed an entire intersection in Guatemala City during a tropical storm, spooking people in the neighborhood but exciting geologists.
A cavernous and almost perfectly round sinkhole swallowed an entire intersection in Guatemala City during a tropical storm, spooking people in the neighborhood but exciting geologists.
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The hole is 20 meters across and plunges nearly 30 meters deep. Geologists said that the circular shape suggested a cave formation underneath, but what exactly caused the sinkhole was still a mystery.
Tropical Storm Agatha - the first tropical storm of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season, took an inland route, drenching El Salvador and Guatemala last weekend.
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On May 30th, the heavy rains caused by the storms had left more than 100 people dead in Guatemala and El Salvador, also causing flash floods and mudslides - leaving more than 70,000 homeless.
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On May 31, Agatha's maximum sustained winds decreased to 30 miles per hour as her remnants crossed Guatemala's western highlands and were headed into the Gulf of Mexico.
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By June 1, Agatha's remnants had moved into the northwestern Caribbean Sea, and were located just east of the Yucatan peninsula - still producing intermittent showers and thunderstorms.
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The National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted that "Upper-level winds... particularly to the north of the system in the Gulf of Mexico are not conducive for development."
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Agatha stands only a 10 per cent chance of becoming tropical once again.