Sinkhole

Sinkhole

Natural sinkholes in Xiaozhai Tiankeng, China (left) and Great Blue Hole, Belize (right). Source: UNB

Explainer: What causes sinkholes, and why do they collapse so suddenly?

They can be as small as a dip in a garden or so big that they swallow houses, cars, and even whole streets

A massive sinkhole opens on Samsen Road near Vajira Hospital, in Bangkok, Thailand, September 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

Thailand works to tackle massive sinkhole in capital

A drone view shows the town of Buriticupu, a small Amazonian town that was declared in a state of public calamity due to sinkholes that threaten the community, in Buriticupu, state of Maranhao, Brazil February 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mauricio Marinho

Massive sinkholes put hundreds in Amazonian town at risk

South Korean firefighters prepare to lift a vehicle that fell into a sinkhole on a street in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (Seo Dae-yeon/Yonhap via AP)

A sinkhole swallows an SUV in South Korea, injuring 2 people

A sinkhole is exposed at a mining zone close to Tierra Amarilla town, in Copiapo, Chile, August 1, 2022. REUTERS/Johan Godoy

Chilean authorities investigate mysterious large sinkhole near copper mine

Photo: TBS

Sinkhole opens up on Dhaka-Agartala international road