Sinkhole Down Under

Image of the Day

Large Sinkhole in Gosford City, NSW, Australia

Gosford City Council employee inspects a large sinkhole which appeared after more than 200mm of rain fell in SE of Australia’s NSW. Photo credit: Gary Graham via daily telegraph.

Australia’s New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally has declared the towns of Shellharbour, Kiama, Bombala and Bega natural disaster areas after a “month of rain in a day” triggered flooding throughout southeast NSW, the heaviest rain in 33 year, a report said.  She said more areas could join the disaster list.

Related Links

• Western Australia Flooding – Satellite Images
• Australian Disasters

Links to Disaster Calendars:

• 2010 Disaster Calendar
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

Giant Sinkhole in Germany, Deadly Mudslides in Italy

Images of the Day

This was just Schmalkalden!

Giant sinkhole appeared in the German town of Schmalkalden, measuring 20m deep and a whopping 40m wide, and swallowed at least one car. Photo: AP. Image may be subject to copyright.

Deadly Mudslide in Massa, Italy

Another mudslide near Massa in Tuscany, Italy, turned deadly killing at least 3 people including a mother and her son, 2. The mudslide was triggered by heavy rain in the region. Some 225mm of rain fell in just 12 hours. Photo: AFP/Getty Images. Image may be subject to copyright.

Related Links:

• 2010 disasters
• 2011 SIX TIMES MORE DISASTROUS THAN 2010

Landslides Kill at least 44 in South China

Rain-triggered Landslides Leave 44 Dead, with 150,000 Evacuated in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, South China

Rescuers search for trapped persons in Beigeng Township, Xincheng County, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, June 3, 2010.  (Xinhua/Zhou Hua). Image may be subject to copyright. See Fire Earth Fair Use Notice.

Most of the deaths have occurred in Cenxi County,  Tengxian County, Donglan County and Fangchenggang City, the official news agency Xinhua reported.

“More than 600 residents in two villages in had been evacuated because of land subsidence Thursday. Four pits and cracks were reported near the villages, with the biggest having a diameter of more than 70 meters and depth of 20 meters.”

The subsidence may have been caused by increased water flow in underground streams caused by torrential rains, a Laibin municipal government official was quoted as saying.

Torrential rains have pummeled Guangxi region since Monday triggering large-scale landslides since early Wednesday, the report .

“Across Guangxi, the rainstorms had battered 27 counties and 144,800 people had been evacuated by 4 p.m. Thursday, the regional civil affairs bureau said.”

Some 8,123 houses have collapsed and 161,830 hectares of crops destroyed or damaged, with the damage estimated at about $180 million, the report said.

Related Links:

• Landslides

Giant Sinkholes Swallow Parts of Guatemala City

A Triple Whammy for Guatemala City

At least 178 people have been killed and many others reported missing as a result of flooding, mudslides and landslides triggered by torrential rains from tropical storm Agatha, and compounded by the huge amount of volcanic ash from Pacaya volcano eruption, as giant sinkholes swallow parts of Guatemala City.

A giant sinkhole caused by the torrential rains from TS Agatha swallows a section of Guatemala City May 31, 2010. Source: Casa Presidencial handout (via Reuters).

Flooding has destroyed as many as 18 major road bridges and up to 60 smaller footbridges throughout the country, hampering aid efforts.

Flooding in Retalhuleu, Guatemala, caused by Tropical Storm Agatha  May 30, 2010. Source: Casa Presidencial handout (via Reuters).

“We’ve gone several days now without aid from the government and we don’t have enough water and food,” said a caller to Guatemalan radio from the town of Huehuetenango in the western highlands.

“At least 152 people were killed in Guatemala, either crushed in their homes or swept away by swollen rivers, and 100 others were missing, according to the government. Twelve people were killed in El Salvador and 14 in Honduras.” A report said.

Coffee trees in Guatemala could be severely affected as a result of the rain. And FEWW Moderators forecast more adverse weather and conditions in the region …

Related Links:

• 2010 Disasters

Massive Landslide Transforms Westman Islands

Large chunks of rocks and earth fall off the uninhabited island of  Bjarnarey,  Westman Islands archipelago

A fisherman who witnessed the catastrophe said large columns of water rose into the air as a 50-meter wide chunk of a 120-meter high cliff broke off and collapsed into the ocean below, Icelandic Review reported.

“A large chunk of the island’s vegetation disappeared in the landslide. Where the waves used to crash against a cliff there is now a rocky scree, which extends 100 meters out from the cliff. The largest boulders are believed to weigh as much as 50 tons.”

Credit: Mynd/Óskar P. Friðriksson/Visir.is. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice.

• More on this story …
• Visir image gallery

Related Links:

• Latest Landslide Locations
• Landslides [A Comprehensive Index of Links to Landslides]

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Landslide and sinkhole close part of U.S. 64

Images of the day:

Landslide and Sinkhole Destroy Part of U.S. Route 64

A landslide and sinkhole, probably caused by recent heavy rains, close part of U.S. Route 64 the main east-west route along the southern border of Tennessee

The section that was destroyed by the earth movement lies in Wayne County between Savannah and Waynesboro about 140 miles east of Memphis, Tennessee. Photo source: TDOT. Click image to enlarge.

Related Links:

• Taiwan Massive Landslide Buries 6-Lane Freeway
• Landslide Fear Shuts Down Part of 10 Fwy in Pomona
• Mudslide Buries Chemical Factory in China
• Storms, Extreme Rain Events, Floods, Landslides
• Additional photos of the landslide

Other Landslide News:

• More than five families have been asked to leave an area that was recently hit by a landslide.
• Sinkhole opens up on Hunza Valley’s Attabad landslide dam

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Serial No 1,633. Starting April 2010, each entry on this blog has a unique serial number. If any of the numbers are missing, it may mean that the corresponding entry has been blocked by Google/the authorities in your country. Please drop us a line if you detect any anomaly/missing number(s).