by Grace Alexander

Created on: June 01, 2010

With reports that tropical storm Agatha caused devastation across Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras over Memorial Day Weekend, sources say that 112,000 people were evacuated from the hardest hit areas. The worst of the damage wasn't even caused by the storm, but by the massive mudslides that followed in its wake, revealing weaknesses in the heart of Guatemala City itself.

According to the Guardian, a massive sinkhole opened up in the middle of the city, swallowing a three story building and according to locals, a security guard - although this has not been confirmed.

The sinkhole is at least 120 feet deep, and measures 90 feet across. It's not the first in the area, either - in 2007, a similar hole opened in a crowded neighborhood, according to ITN Source, which related:

"Rescue workers swung in to action in Guatemala City on Friday (February 23) after a large sinkhole swallowed up a number of homes - killing at least two and leaving one missing. Several hundred residents were evacuated after the disaster which authorities have blamed on recent heavy rains and a ruptured sewage pipe.

Rescue workers were concerned the 220-foot sinkhole could expand and suspended work until they could further investigate the situation. The missing people had lived in a house that fell into the hole. Two bodies showed up about a mile downstream."

That sinkhole was blamed on sub par sewer systems in the city. The latest sinkhole, however, is largely attributed to the heavy rain and mudslides. A photo of the sinkhole in Guatemala city from 2007 can be seen here, and the 2010 sinkhole is visible here.

In addition to the deaths from flooding and the sinkhole, travel in Guatemala is nigh impossible with at least 13 rivers swollen past safe levels and a minimum of 13 bridges down.

The country is in uproar, an unlike El Salvador, where officials expect to be up and running again shortly, the restoration of order in Guatemala City will take much longer.

Agatha arriving on the heels of the recent volcanic eruptions makes some compare the catastrophic damage to 1990's devastation caused in the Philippines by a tropical storm paired with the  Mt. Pinatubo eruption - albeit that the Guatemala situation has not become that severe, nonetheless rescue efforts are at a near standstill despite the courage of workers, and cleanup will take months.

Sources:
AP News
CNN
Fox News
ITN Source
Gaurdian.uk

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