Image 1 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A man inspects a sinkhole formed in a house on July 19, 2011, north of Guatemala City. When neighbors heard the loud boom overnight they thought a cooking gas canister had detonated. Instead they found a deep sinkhole the size of a large pot inside a home under a woman's bed. The sinkhole was 40 feet deep and 32 inches in diameter. Police, members of the country's natural disaster office and water utility company officials came to visit the site. Sinkholes, formed by the natural process of erosion, can be gradual but are often sudden. Guatemala City, built on volcanic deposits, is especially prone to sinkholes, often blamed on a leaky sewer system or on heavy rain. JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images  Image 1 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A man inspects a sinkhole formed in a house on July 19, 2011, north of Guatemala City. When neighbors heard the loud boom overnight they thought a cooking gas canister had detonated. Instead they found a deep sinkhole the size of a large pot inside a home under a woman's bed. The sinkhole was 40 feet deep and 32 inches in diameter. Police, members of the country's natural disaster office and water utility company officials came to visit the site. Sinkholes, formed by the natural process of erosion, can be gradual but are often sudden. Guatemala City, built on volcanic deposits, is especially prone to sinkholes, often blamed on a leaky sewer system or on heavy rain. JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images  A man inspects a sinkhole formed in a house on July 19, 2011, north of...Guatemala City. When neighbors heard the loud boom overnight they...thought a cooking gas canister had detonated. Instead they found a...deep sinkhole the size of a large pot inside a home under a woman's...bed. The sinkhole was 40 feet deep and 32 inches in diameter. Police,...members of the country's natural disaster office and water utility...company officials came to visit the site. Sinkholes, formed by the...natural process of erosion, can be gradual but are often sudden....Guatemala City, built on volcanic deposits, is especially prone to...sinkholes, often blamed on a leaky sewer system or on heavy rain....JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images  Image 2 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A man inspects a sinkhole inside a house on July 19, 2011, north of Guatemala City. The sinkhole was 40 feet deep and 32 inches in diameter. JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images  Image 2 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A man inspects a sinkhole inside a house on July 19, 2011, north of Guatemala City. The sinkhole was 40 feet deep and 32 inches in diameter. JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images  A man inspects a sinkhole inside a house on July 19, 2011, north of...Guatemala City. The sinkhole was 40 feet deep and 32 inches in...diameter. JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images  Image 3 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  In this image provided by the National Corvette Museum shows several cars that collapsed into a sinkhole Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014, in Bowling Green, Ky. The museum said a total of eight cars were damaged when a sinkhole opened up early Wednesday morning inside the museum. (AP Photo/National Corvette Museum, HO)  Image 3 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  In this image provided by the National Corvette Museum shows several cars that collapsed into a sinkhole Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014, in Bowling Green, Ky. The museum said a total of eight cars were damaged when a sinkhole opened up early Wednesday morning inside the museum. (AP Photo/National Corvette Museum, HO)  In this image provided by the National Corvette Museum shows several...cars that collapsed into a sinkhole Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014, in...Bowling Green, Ky. The museum said a total of eight cars were damaged...when a sinkhole opened up early Wednesday morning inside the museum....(AP Photo/National Corvette Museum, HO)  Image 4 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  In this Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014 photo, cars lie in a sinkhole that opened up at the Skydome showroom in the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky. The sinkhole that swallowed eight cars at the has become such an attraction that officials want to preserve it. They may even put one or two of the cars back inside the hole. The board of the museum in Kentucky voted Wednesday, June 25, 2014 to preserve a large section of the sinkhole that opened beneath the museum in February. (AP Photo/Michael Noble Jr.)  Image 4 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  In this Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014 photo, cars lie in a sinkhole that opened up at the Skydome showroom in the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky. The sinkhole that swallowed eight cars at the has become such an attraction that officials want to preserve it. They may even put one or two of the cars back inside the hole. The board of the museum in Kentucky voted Wednesday, June 25, 2014 to preserve a large section of the sinkhole that opened beneath the museum in February. (AP Photo/Michael Noble Jr.)  In this Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014 photo, cars lie in a sinkhole that...opened up at the Skydome showroom in the National Corvette Museum in...Bowling Green, Ky. The sinkhole that swallowed eight cars at the has...become such an attraction that officials want to preserve it. They may...even put one or two of the cars back inside the hole. The board of the...museum in Kentucky voted Wednesday, June 25, 2014 to preserve a large...section of the sinkhole that opened beneath the museum in February....(AP Photo/Michael Noble Jr.)  Image 5 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  In this image provided by the National Corvette Museum shows several cars that collapsed into a sinkhole Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014, in Bowling Green, Ky. The museum said a total of eight cars were damaged when a sinkhole opened up early Wednesday morning inside the museum. (AP Photo/National Corvette Museum, HO)  Image 5 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  In this image provided by the National Corvette Museum shows several cars that collapsed into a sinkhole Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014, in Bowling Green, Ky. The museum said a total of eight cars were damaged when a sinkhole opened up early Wednesday morning inside the museum. (AP Photo/National Corvette Museum, HO)  In this image provided by the National Corvette Museum shows several...cars that collapsed into a sinkhole Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014, in...Bowling Green, Ky. The museum said a total of eight cars were damaged...when a sinkhole opened up early Wednesday morning inside the museum....(AP Photo/National Corvette Museum, HO)  Image 6 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  In this image provided by the National Corvette Museum shows several cars that collapsed into a sinkhole Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014, in Bowling Green, Ky. The museum said a total of eight cars were damaged when a sinkhole opened up early Wednesday morning inside the museum. (AP Photo/National Corvette Museum, HO)  Image 6 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  In this image provided by the National Corvette Museum shows several cars that collapsed into a sinkhole Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014, in Bowling Green, Ky. The museum said a total of eight cars were damaged when a sinkhole opened up early Wednesday morning inside the museum. (AP Photo/National Corvette Museum, HO)  In this image provided by the National Corvette Museum shows several...cars that collapsed into a sinkhole Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014, in...Bowling Green, Ky. The museum said a total of eight cars were damaged...when a sinkhole opened up early Wednesday morning inside the museum....(AP Photo/National Corvette Museum, HO)  Image 7 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  One of eight Chevrolet Corvettes is removed from a sinkhole in the Skydome at the National Corvette Museum, Monday, March. 3, 2014, in Bowling Green, Ky. On Feb. 12, a large sinkhole swallowed eight prized cars like they were toys, piling them in a heap amid loose dirt and concrete fragments. (AP Photo/Daily News, Alex Slitz)  Image 7 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  One of eight Chevrolet Corvettes is removed from a sinkhole in the Skydome at the National Corvette Museum, Monday, March. 3, 2014, in Bowling Green, Ky. On Feb. 12, a large sinkhole swallowed eight prized cars like they were toys, piling them in a heap amid loose dirt and concrete fragments. (AP Photo/Daily News, Alex Slitz)  One of eight Chevrolet Corvettes is removed from a sinkhole in the...Skydome at the National Corvette Museum, Monday, March. 3, 2014, in...Bowling Green, Ky. On Feb. 12, a large sinkhole swallowed eight prized...cars like they were toys, piling them in a heap amid loose dirt and...concrete fragments. (AP Photo/Daily News, Alex Slitz)  Image 8 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A sinkhole opened up on Disco Road at Hwy 427 after a massive storm and flooding in the GTA.  Image 8 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A sinkhole opened up on Disco Road at Hwy 427 after a massive storm and flooding in the GTA.  A sinkhole opened up on Disco Road at Hwy 427 after a massive storm...and flooding in the GTA.  Image 9 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  Workers prepare to pull a truck from a sinkhole that opened up on a residential street in the South Deering neighborhood on April 18, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. The driver of the truck was hospitalized after driving into the 15-feet-deep hole while on his way to work. Two other vehicles were also swallowed by the sinkhole.  Image 9 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  Workers prepare to pull a truck from a sinkhole that opened up on a residential street in the South Deering neighborhood on April 18, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. The driver of the truck was hospitalized after driving into the 15-feet-deep hole while on his way to work. Two other vehicles were also swallowed by the sinkhole.  Workers prepare to pull a truck from a sinkhole that opened up on a...residential street in the South Deering neighborhood on April 18, 2013...in Chicago, Illinois. The driver of the truck was hospitalized after...driving into the 15-feet-deep hole while on his way to work. Two other...vehicles were also swallowed by the sinkhole.  Image 10 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  Workers prepare to pull a truck from a sinkhole that opened up on a residential street in the South Deering neighborhood on April 18, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois.  Image 10 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  Workers prepare to pull a truck from a sinkhole that opened up on a residential street in the South Deering neighborhood on April 18, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois.  Workers prepare to pull a truck from a sinkhole that opened up on a...residential street in the South Deering neighborhood on April 18, 2013...in Chicago, Illinois.  Image 11 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  Image 11 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  Image 12 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  Flash flooding leaves a massive sinkhole on Route 62 June 2, 2013 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. A series of tornadoes ripped through the area on the evening of March 31st causing flash flooding, killing at least nine people, injuring many others and destroying homes and buildings.  Image 12 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  Flash flooding leaves a massive sinkhole on Route 62 June 2, 2013 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. A series of tornadoes ripped through the area on the evening of March 31st causing flash flooding, killing at least nine people, injuring many others and destroying homes and buildings.  Flash flooding leaves a massive sinkhole on Route 62 June 2, 2013 in...Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. A series of tornadoes ripped through the area...on the evening of March 31st causing flash flooding, killing at least...nine people, injuring many others and destroying homes and buildings.  Image 13 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  Flash flooding leaves a massive sinkhole on Route 62 June 2, 2013 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Image 13 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  Flash flooding leaves a massive sinkhole on Route 62 June 2, 2013 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Flash flooding leaves a massive sinkhole on Route 62 June 2, 2013 in...Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Image 14 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  In China: Rescuers move a dead body found in a sinkhole on a road in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province on May 21, 2013. Five people died when a 33-foot-wide sinkhole opened up at the gates of an industrial estate in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese boom town neighboring Hong Kong, local authorities said on May 21.  Image 14 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  In China: Rescuers move a dead body found in a sinkhole on a road in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province on May 21, 2013. Five people died when a 33-foot-wide sinkhole opened up at the gates of an industrial estate in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese boom town neighboring Hong Kong, local authorities said on May 21.  In China: Rescuers move a dead body found in a sinkhole on a road in...Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province on May 21, 2013. Five...people died when a 33-foot-wide sinkhole opened up at the gates of an...industrial estate in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese boom town...neighboring Hong Kong, local authorities said on May 21.  Image 15 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  Rescuers prepare to move a dead body found in a sinkhole on a road in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province on May 21, 2013.  Image 15 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  Rescuers prepare to move a dead body found in a sinkhole on a road in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province on May 21, 2013.  Rescuers prepare to move a dead body found in a sinkhole on a road in...Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province on May 21, 2013.  Image 16 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  An engineer surveys in front of a home where sinkhole opened up on Friday, March 1, 2013, in Seffner, Fla. Jeffrey Bush, 37, screamed for help and disappeared late Thursday evening as a large sinkhole opened under the bedroom of the house, his brother, Jeremy Bush, said Friday. Jeremy Bush told rescue crews he heard a loud crash near midnight Thursday, then heard his brother screaming. Jeremy Bush called police and frantically tried to help. An arriving deputy pulled him from the still-collapsing house. There's been no contact with Jeffrey Bush since then, and neighbors on both sides of the home have been evacuated. Workers suspended the search for Jeffrey Bush on Saturday.  Image 16 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  An engineer surveys in front of a home where sinkhole opened up on Friday, March 1, 2013, in Seffner, Fla. Jeffrey Bush, 37, screamed for help and disappeared late Thursday evening as a large sinkhole opened under the bedroom of the house, his brother, Jeremy Bush, said Friday. Jeremy Bush told rescue crews he heard a loud crash near midnight Thursday, then heard his brother screaming. Jeremy Bush called police and frantically tried to help. An arriving deputy pulled him from the still-collapsing house. There's been no contact with Jeffrey Bush since then, and neighbors on both sides of the home have been evacuated. Workers suspended the search for Jeffrey Bush on Saturday.  An engineer surveys in front of a home where sinkhole opened up on...Friday, March 1, 2013, in Seffner, Fla. Jeffrey Bush, 37, screamed for...help and disappeared late Thursday evening as a large sinkhole opened...under the bedroom of the house, his brother, Jeremy Bush, said Friday....Jeremy Bush told rescue crews he heard a loud crash near midnight...Thursday, then heard his brother screaming. Jeremy Bush called police...and frantically tried to help. An arriving deputy pulled him from the...still-collapsing house. There's been no contact with Jeffrey Bush...since then, and neighbors on both sides of the home have been...evacuated. Workers suspended the search for Jeffrey Bush on Saturday.  Image 17 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A truck hangs over the edge of a sinkhole that opened up in the parking lot of Hughes Relocation Services, Monday, June 25, 2012, in Salt Springs, Fla. Tropical Storm Debby raked the Tampa Bay area with high wind and heavy rain Monday in a drenching that could top 2 feet over the next few days and trigger widespread flooding.  Image 17 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A truck hangs over the edge of a sinkhole that opened up in the parking lot of Hughes Relocation Services, Monday, June 25, 2012, in Salt Springs, Fla. Tropical Storm Debby raked the Tampa Bay area with high wind and heavy rain Monday in a drenching that could top 2 feet over the next few days and trigger widespread flooding.  A truck hangs over the edge of a sinkhole that opened up in the...parking lot of Hughes Relocation Services, Monday, June 25, 2012, in...Salt Springs, Fla. Tropical Storm Debby raked the Tampa Bay area with...high wind and heavy rain Monday in a drenching that could top 2 feet...over the next few days and trigger widespread flooding.  Image 18 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  People look at a large sinkhole near Jonesville Park Monday, June 25, 2012, in Jonesville, Fla.  Image 18 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  People look at a large sinkhole near Jonesville Park Monday, June 25, 2012, in Jonesville, Fla.  People look at a large sinkhole near Jonesville Park Monday, June 25,...2012, in Jonesville, Fla.  Image 19 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A car sits in a giant sinkhole in Duluth, Minn. Wednesday, June 20, 2011. Residents evacuated their homes and animals escaped from pens at a zoo as floods fed by a steady torrential downpour struck northeastern Minnesota, inundating the city of Duluth, officials said. (AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Brian Peterson)  Image 19 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A car sits in a giant sinkhole in Duluth, Minn. Wednesday, June 20, 2011. Residents evacuated their homes and animals escaped from pens at a zoo as floods fed by a steady torrential downpour struck northeastern Minnesota, inundating the city of Duluth, officials said. (AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Brian Peterson)  A car sits in a giant sinkhole in Duluth, Minn. Wednesday, June 20,...2011. Residents evacuated their homes and animals escaped from pens at...a zoo as floods fed by a steady torrential downpour struck...northeastern Minnesota, inundating the city of Duluth, officials said....(AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Brian Peterson)  Image 20 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A car fell into a huge sinkhole in Duluth, Minn. on Wednesday, June 20, 2012.  Image 20 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A car fell into a huge sinkhole in Duluth, Minn. on Wednesday, June 20, 2012.  A car fell into a huge sinkhole in Duluth, Minn. on Wednesday, June...20, 2012.  Image 21 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A giant sinkhole opened in Shoreline, north of Seattle, at the intersection of Northwest 175th Street and Sixth Avenue Northwest on New Year's Eve 1996. It was caused by a sewer line break.  Image 21 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A giant sinkhole opened in Shoreline, north of Seattle, at the intersection of Northwest 175th Street and Sixth Avenue Northwest on New Year's Eve 1996. It was caused by a sewer line break.  A giant sinkhole opened in Shoreline, north of Seattle, at the...intersection of Northwest 175th Street and Sixth Avenue Northwest on...New Year's Eve 1996. It was caused by a sewer line break.  Image 22 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  Ed Heavey, project geotechnical engineer for reconstruction, takes a photo of the sinkhole in Shoreline, north of Seattle, that opened on Dec. 31, 1996. Water released from a broken sewer pipe washed away the glacial sand under the road.  Image 22 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  Ed Heavey, project geotechnical engineer for reconstruction, takes a photo of the sinkhole in Shoreline, north of Seattle, that opened on Dec. 31, 1996. Water released from a broken sewer pipe washed away the glacial sand under the road.  Ed Heavey, project geotechnical engineer for reconstruction, takes a...photo of the sinkhole in Shoreline, north of Seattle, that opened on...Dec. 31, 1996. Water released from a broken sewer pipe washed away the...glacial sand under the road.  Image 23 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A Seattle City Light crew removes a utility pole left hanging in midair after a sinkhole swallowed the intersection at Northwest 175th Street and Sixth Avenue Northwest in Shoreline on New Year's Eve 1996.  Image 23 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A Seattle City Light crew removes a utility pole left hanging in midair after a sinkhole swallowed the intersection at Northwest 175th Street and Sixth Avenue Northwest in Shoreline on New Year's Eve 1996.  A Seattle City Light crew removes a utility pole left hanging in...midair after a sinkhole swallowed the intersection at Northwest 175th...Street and Sixth Avenue Northwest in Shoreline on New Year's Eve 1996.  Image 24 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  Vice President Al Gore walks past a giant sinkhole in Shoreline on Jan. 10, 1997, during his inspection of damage from recent storms in the West. At Gore's side is Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)  Image 24 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  Vice President Al Gore walks past a giant sinkhole in Shoreline on Jan. 10, 1997, during his inspection of damage from recent storms in the West. At Gore's side is Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)  Vice President Al Gore walks past a giant sinkhole in Shoreline on...Jan. 10, 1997, during his inspection of damage from recent storms in...the West. At Gore's side is Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. (AP...Photo/Elaine Thompson)  Image 25 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  Under the University Bridge, city utility employees look over the scene where a water main break created a sinkhole that washed away two vehicles in Seattle on Wednesday, May 2, 2007.  Image 25 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  Under the University Bridge, city utility employees look over the scene where a water main break created a sinkhole that washed away two vehicles in Seattle on Wednesday, May 2, 2007.  Under the University Bridge, city utility employees look over the...scene where a water main break created a sinkhole that washed away two...vehicles in Seattle on Wednesday, May 2, 2007.  Image 26 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A neighbor checks out one of three large sinkholes to appear in an Everett, Wash., neighborhood on June 6, 1999.  Image 26 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A neighbor checks out one of three large sinkholes to appear in an Everett, Wash., neighborhood on June 6, 1999.  A neighbor checks out one of three large sinkholes to appear in an...Everett, Wash., neighborhood on June 6, 1999.  Image 27 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  From left, Garrick Hopkins, Dick Gabrielson and Bob Lucas of Seattle Public Utilities talk about ways to fill a growing sinkhole on Orcas Street near 30th Avenue South in Seattle on Tuesday August 24, 2004. A high volume of water from recent rains combined with aging pipes caused the sewage and rainwater pipe to burst, eroding the ground under the road. The hole appeared when a car driving on the road punched through the pavement. Joshua Trujillo/ Seattle P-I  Image 27 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  From left, Garrick Hopkins, Dick Gabrielson and Bob Lucas of Seattle Public Utilities talk about ways to fill a growing sinkhole on Orcas Street near 30th Avenue South in Seattle on Tuesday August 24, 2004. A high volume of water from recent rains combined with aging pipes caused the sewage and rainwater pipe to burst, eroding the ground under the road. The hole appeared when a car driving on the road punched through the pavement. Joshua Trujillo/ Seattle P-I  From left, Garrick Hopkins, Dick Gabrielson and Bob Lucas of Seattle...Public Utilities talk about ways to fill a growing sinkhole on Orcas...Street near 30th Avenue South in Seattle on Tuesday August 24, 2004. ...A high volume of water from recent rains combined with aging pipes...caused the sewage and rainwater pipe to burst, eroding the ground...under the road. The hole appeared when a car driving on the road...punched through the pavement. Joshua Trujillo/ Seattle P-I  Image 28 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A small car sits in a huge sinkhole on John Muir Drive in San Francisco Sunday, Jan. 18, 1998. Stopped-up sewers caused flooding, and when Harlan Edelman left his car on the side of the road to walk home and wait out the storm, he returned later to find it in a pit. (AP Photo/Joaquin Siopack)  Image 28 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A small car sits in a huge sinkhole on John Muir Drive in San Francisco Sunday, Jan. 18, 1998. Stopped-up sewers caused flooding, and when Harlan Edelman left his car on the side of the road to walk home and wait out the storm, he returned later to find it in a pit. (AP Photo/Joaquin Siopack)  A small car sits in a huge sinkhole on John Muir Drive in San...Francisco Sunday, Jan. 18, 1998. Stopped-up sewers caused flooding,...and when Harlan Edelman left his car on the side of the road to walk...home and wait out the storm, he returned later to find it in a pit....(AP Photo/Joaquin Siopack)  Image 29 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  Utility workers examine the scene of a car caught in a sinkhole caused by a broken water main, which collapsed part of Friendship Blvd. on December 3, 2010 in Chevy Chase, Maryland. No one was reported injured in the accident.  Image 29 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  Utility workers examine the scene of a car caught in a sinkhole caused by a broken water main, which collapsed part of Friendship Blvd. on December 3, 2010 in Chevy Chase, Maryland. No one was reported injured in the accident.  Utility workers examine the scene of a car caught in a sinkhole caused...by a broken water main, which collapsed part of Friendship Blvd. on...December 3, 2010 in Chevy Chase, Maryland. No one was reported injured...in the accident.  Image 30 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A car sits in a sinkhole caused by a broken water main, which collapsed part of Friendship Blvd. on December 3, 2010 in Chevy Chase, Maryland. No one was reported injured in the accident.  Image 30 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A car sits in a sinkhole caused by a broken water main, which collapsed part of Friendship Blvd. on December 3, 2010 in Chevy Chase, Maryland. No one was reported injured in the accident.  A car sits in a sinkhole caused by a broken water main, which...collapsed part of Friendship Blvd. on December 3, 2010 in Chevy Chase,...Maryland. No one was reported injured in the accident.  Image 31 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A woman walks her dog past a car caught in a sinkhole caused by a broken water main, which collapsed part of Friendship Blvd. on December 3, 2010 in Chevy Chase, Maryland. No one was reported injured in the accident.  Image 31 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A woman walks her dog past a car caught in a sinkhole caused by a broken water main, which collapsed part of Friendship Blvd. on December 3, 2010 in Chevy Chase, Maryland. No one was reported injured in the accident.  A woman walks her dog past a car caught in a sinkhole caused by a...broken water main, which collapsed part of Friendship Blvd. on...December 3, 2010 in Chevy Chase, Maryland. No one was reported injured...in the accident.  Image 32 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  Workers use excavators to fill in a sinkhole which occurred overnight on Shiliuzhuang road, in Beijing on April 26, 2011. A section of the road collapsed beneath a truck, slightly injuring the driver and a passenger, who both jumped out the vehicle before it sank into the hole, as an authority suspects the hole was caused by the construction of a subway line.  Image 32 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  Workers use excavators to fill in a sinkhole which occurred overnight on Shiliuzhuang road, in Beijing on April 26, 2011. A section of the road collapsed beneath a truck, slightly injuring the driver and a passenger, who both jumped out the vehicle before it sank into the hole, as an authority suspects the hole was caused by the construction of a subway line.  Workers use excavators to fill in a sinkhole which occurred overnight...on Shiliuzhuang road, in Beijing on April 26, 2011. A section of the...road collapsed beneath a truck, slightly injuring the driver and a...passenger, who both jumped out the vehicle before it sank into the...hole, as an authority suspects the hole was caused by the construction...of a subway line.  Image 33 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A truck lies in a sinkhole which occurred overnight on Shiliuzhuang road, in Beijing on April 26, 2011. A section of the road collapsed beneath a truck, slightly injuring the driver and a passenger, who both jumped out the vehicle before it sank into the hole, as an authority suspects the hole was caused by the construction of a subway line.  Image 33 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A truck lies in a sinkhole which occurred overnight on Shiliuzhuang road, in Beijing on April 26, 2011. A section of the road collapsed beneath a truck, slightly injuring the driver and a passenger, who both jumped out the vehicle before it sank into the hole, as an authority suspects the hole was caused by the construction of a subway line.  A truck lies in a sinkhole which occurred overnight on Shiliuzhuang...road, in Beijing on April 26, 2011. A section of the road collapsed...beneath a truck, slightly injuring the driver and a passenger, who...both jumped out the vehicle before it sank into the hole, as an...authority suspects the hole was caused by the construction of a subway...line.  Image 34 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  Workers block off the site of a sinkhole which occurred overnight on Shiliuzhuang road, in Beijing on April 26, 2011. A section of the road collapsed beneath a truck, slightly injuring the driver and a passenger, who both jumped out the vehicle before it sank into the hole, as an authority suspects the hole was caused by the construction of a subway line.  Image 34 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  Workers block off the site of a sinkhole which occurred overnight on Shiliuzhuang road, in Beijing on April 26, 2011. A section of the road collapsed beneath a truck, slightly injuring the driver and a passenger, who both jumped out the vehicle before it sank into the hole, as an authority suspects the hole was caused by the construction of a subway line.  Workers block off the site of a sinkhole which occurred overnight on...Shiliuzhuang road, in Beijing on April 26, 2011. A section of the road...collapsed beneath a truck, slightly injuring the driver and a...passenger, who both jumped out the vehicle before it sank into the...hole, as an authority suspects the hole was caused by the construction...of a subway line.  Image 35 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A 22-ton Los Angeles Fire Department fire truck protrudes from a sinkhole on September 8, 2009 in the Valley Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Firefighters were dispatched to investigate an early morning call about flooding on a residential street when the driver saw a large amount of water in the darkness. The driver was backing up when the truck fell into the sinkhole, apparently caused by a broken 6-inch cast iron pipe. The firefighters were not hurt in the accident. Officials have not yet determined if the break is related to a broken 95-year-old 64-inch pipe in neighboring Studio city.  Image 35 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A 22-ton Los Angeles Fire Department fire truck protrudes from a sinkhole on September 8, 2009 in the Valley Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Firefighters were dispatched to investigate an early morning call about flooding on a residential street when the driver saw a large amount of water in the darkness. The driver was backing up when the truck fell into the sinkhole, apparently caused by a broken 6-inch cast iron pipe. The firefighters were not hurt in the accident. Officials have not yet determined if the break is related to a broken 95-year-old 64-inch pipe in neighboring Studio city.  A 22-ton Los Angeles Fire Department fire truck protrudes from a...sinkhole on September 8, 2009 in the Valley Village neighborhood of...Los Angeles, California. Firefighters were dispatched to investigate...an early morning call about flooding on a residential street when the...driver saw a large amount of water in the darkness. The driver was...backing up when the truck fell into the sinkhole, apparently caused by...a broken 6-inch cast iron pipe. The firefighters were not hurt in the...accident. Officials have not yet determined if the break is related to...a broken 95-year-old 64-inch pipe in neighboring Studio city.  Image 36 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A Los Angeles fire truck is pulled from a sinkhole in the Valley Village neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009. Four firefighters escaped injury early Tuesday after their fire engine sunk into a large hole caused by a broken water main in the San Fernando Valley, authorities said.  Image 36 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A Los Angeles fire truck is pulled from a sinkhole in the Valley Village neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009. Four firefighters escaped injury early Tuesday after their fire engine sunk into a large hole caused by a broken water main in the San Fernando Valley, authorities said.  A Los Angeles fire truck is pulled from a sinkhole in the Valley...Village neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009. Four...firefighters escaped injury early Tuesday after their fire engine sunk...into a large hole caused by a broken water main in the San Fernando...Valley, authorities said.  Image 37 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A 22-ton Los Angeles Fire Department fire truck protrudes from a sinkhole on September 8, 2009 in the Valley Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.  Image 37 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A 22-ton Los Angeles Fire Department fire truck protrudes from a sinkhole on September 8, 2009 in the Valley Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.  A 22-ton Los Angeles Fire Department fire truck protrudes from a...sinkhole on September 8, 2009 in the Valley Village neighborhood of...Los Angeles, California.  Image 38 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  Trucks are stuck in the rubble of the collapsed 'Pinheiros' subway station in Sao Paulo, Brazil on January 15, 2007. Brazilian officials said a passenger minivan had fallen to the bottom of a 130-foot deep pit dug to facilitate delivery of supplies for workers building an underground railway line. The lip of the hole gave way to a landslide, taking with it vehicles on a roadway around the edge and dumping tons of dirt, asphalt and concrete on top of them.  Image 38 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  Trucks are stuck in the rubble of the collapsed 'Pinheiros' subway station in Sao Paulo, Brazil on January 15, 2007. Brazilian officials said a passenger minivan had fallen to the bottom of a 130-foot deep pit dug to facilitate delivery of supplies for workers building an underground railway line. The lip of the hole gave way to a landslide, taking with it vehicles on a roadway around the edge and dumping tons of dirt, asphalt and concrete on top of them.  Trucks are stuck in the rubble of the collapsed 'Pinheiros' subway...station in Sao Paulo, Brazil on January 15, 2007. Brazilian officials...said a passenger minivan had fallen to the bottom of a 130-foot deep...pit dug to facilitate delivery of supplies for workers building an...underground railway line. The lip of the hole gave way to a landslide,...taking with it vehicles on a roadway around the edge and dumping tons...of dirt, asphalt and concrete on top of them.  Image 39 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A sports utility vehicle is stuck in a sinkhole in the Brooklyn section of New York after a water main break caused the street to give way Monday, March 27, 2006. The driver of the vehicle was not seriously injured, according to the fire department.  Image 39 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A sports utility vehicle is stuck in a sinkhole in the Brooklyn section of New York after a water main break caused the street to give way Monday, March 27, 2006. The driver of the vehicle was not seriously injured, according to the fire department.  A sports utility vehicle is stuck in a sinkhole in the Brooklyn...section of New York after a water main break caused the street to give...way Monday, March 27, 2006. The driver of the vehicle was not...seriously injured, according to the fire department.  Image 40 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  Workers watch flood waters pour into a construction site that turned into a sinkhole Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004, in the Sun Valley section of Los Angeles. A powerful Pacific storm that bore floods, mudslides and record-breaking rainfall sent another pulse across Southern California early Wednesday, as Northern California prepared for another front expected to bring heavy snow and high winds to the Sierra Nevada and much of Eastern California.  Image 40 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  Workers watch flood waters pour into a construction site that turned into a sinkhole Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004, in the Sun Valley section of Los Angeles. A powerful Pacific storm that bore floods, mudslides and record-breaking rainfall sent another pulse across Southern California early Wednesday, as Northern California prepared for another front expected to bring heavy snow and high winds to the Sierra Nevada and much of Eastern California.  Workers watch flood waters pour into a construction site that turned...into a sinkhole Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004, in the Sun Valley section of...Los Angeles. A powerful Pacific storm that bore floods, mudslides and...record-breaking rainfall sent another pulse across Southern California...early Wednesday, as Northern California prepared for another front...expected to bring heavy snow and high winds to the Sierra Nevada and...much of Eastern California.  Image 41 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  Yvonne Leal hugs her husband, Cosme Leal III, after he climbed to safety when his truck was swallowed by a sinkhole Wednesday morning, June 9, 2004, in Corpus Christi, Texas. A ruptured water main caused the roadway to break open.  Image 41 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  Yvonne Leal hugs her husband, Cosme Leal III, after he climbed to safety when his truck was swallowed by a sinkhole Wednesday morning, June 9, 2004, in Corpus Christi, Texas. A ruptured water main caused the roadway to break open.  Yvonne Leal hugs her husband, Cosme Leal III, after he climbed to...safety when his truck was swallowed by a sinkhole Wednesday morning,...June 9, 2004, in Corpus Christi, Texas. A ruptured water main caused...the roadway to break open.  Image 42 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  Workers and onlookers Wednesday at a sinkhole that opened up on a four-lane Mexico City street. The sink hole, said to be caused by rain waters and a broken underground drainage pipe, opened up late Tuesday Sept. 14 , 2004, on Benjamin Franklin Street.  Image 42 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  Workers and onlookers Wednesday at a sinkhole that opened up on a four-lane Mexico City street. The sink hole, said to be caused by rain waters and a broken underground drainage pipe, opened up late Tuesday Sept. 14 , 2004, on Benjamin Franklin Street.  Workers and onlookers Wednesday at a sinkhole that opened up on a...four-lane Mexico City street. The sink hole, said to be caused by rain...waters and a broken underground drainage pipe, opened up late Tuesday...Sept. 14 , 2004, on Benjamin Franklin Street.  Image 43 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A 40-foot deep sinkhole still kept the road closed at the 8400 block of Tujunga Avenue in Sun Valley. One road worker fell into the sink hole and was killed.  Image 43 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A 40-foot deep sinkhole still kept the road closed at the 8400 block of Tujunga Avenue in Sun Valley. One road worker fell into the sink hole and was killed.  A 40-foot deep sinkhole still kept the road closed at the 8400 block...of Tujunga Avenue in Sun Valley. One road worker fell into the sink...hole and was killed.  Image 44 of 44 |Sinkholes in the news  A sinkhole covers a street intersection in downtown Guatemala City, Wednesday, June 2, 2010. Authorities blamed heavy rains caused by tropical storm Agatha as the cause of the crater that swallowed a a three-story building but now say they will be conducting further studies to determine the cause.  Image 44 of 44 - Sinkholes in the news  A sinkhole covers a street intersection in downtown Guatemala City, Wednesday, June 2, 2010. Authorities blamed heavy rains caused by tropical storm Agatha as the cause of the crater that swallowed a a three-story building but now say they will be conducting further studies to determine the cause.  A sinkhole covers a street intersection in downtown Guatemala City,...Wednesday, June 2, 2010. Authorities blamed heavy rains caused by...tropical storm Agatha as the cause of the crater that swallowed a a...three-story building but now say they will be conducting further...studies to determine the cause.
The Siberian Times reports that Russian scientist Vasily Bogoyavlensky of the Russian Academy of Sciences is calling for an "urgent" investigation into the cause of dozens of new "pingos" or giant mystery craters he has discovered.
 
 
 
 The paper reports:
 
 "Until now