Authorities in a city in the Brazilian Amazon have declared a state of emergency after huge sinkholes formed, threatening hundreds of homes. UNN reports this with reference to The Guardian.
Details
Several buildings in Buriticupu, Marañon have already been destroyed, and about 1,200 people out of a population of 55,000 are at risk of losing their homes to the abyss.
Over the past few months, the size has increased exponentially, bringing them much closer to residential buildings,
The recent sinkholes are the result of an exacerbation of a problem that Buritikup residents have been experiencing for 30 years: rains are slowly eroding the soil, which is vulnerable due to its sandy nature, as well as poorly planned construction and deforestation.
Large-scale soil erosion is known in Brazil as "voçoroca," an indigenous word that means "to tear up the earth" and is equivalent to sinkholes.
Marcelino Farias, a geographer and professor at the Federal University of Maranhão, says the problem is exacerbated during periods of heavy rain, such as the current one.
Antonia dos Anjos, who has lived in Buriticup for 22 years, fears that new sinkholes will soon appear.
This danger is right in front of us, and no one knows where the hole opens up underneath,
Buriticupu's public works secretary and engineer Lucas Conceicao said the municipality clearly does not have the capacity to find a solution to the difficult situation with the sinkhole.
"These problems range from erosion processes to the removal of people at risk," he said.
Addendum
In January, a powerful earthquake in Tibet killed more than 100 people.