The Puebla sinkhole is located in the town of Santa Maria Zacatepec, Juan C. Bonilla municipality,

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

, Mexico. It is found east of the state capital of

, and east of Mexico City, at coordinates 19.1257, -98.3738. The

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

first appeared on May 29, 2021, with a diameter of ; by June 10 it had grown to with a depth estimated at .

First appearance and developments

The sinkhole opened in a field on the afternoon of May 29, 2021, with a diameter of . Homeowners Magdalena and Heriberto Sánchez reported hearing a loud sound before finding the pit. The couple, who live with their two children, ages 13 and 11, have been forced to flee their modest home, which they had remodelled from 2014 to may 2020 with an investment of MXN $700,000 (US$35,000 at June 2021 exchange rate). Local people believe the sinkhole may be related to what was once a ''jagüey'' or artificial pond, in the area, but environmental officials have suggested it may be related to a softening of the soil as a result of overexploitation of the aquifers in the Alto Atoyac sub-basin of the

Balsas River The Balsas River (Spanish Río Balsas, also locally known as the Mezcala River, or Atoyac River) is a major river of south-central Mexico. The basin flows through the states of Guerrero, México, Morelos, and Puebla. Downstream of Ciudad Al ...

basin in southwest Mexico. The sinkhole is filled with water that has strong currents; some people believe the water may come from an underground river. The water almost completely disappears at about 3 or 4 a.m. Two dogs that fell into the pit in the afternoon of June 10 were rescued a few hours later, by which time the sinkhole had grown to with a depth estimated at . The government has warned that tourists should stay away from the area and has prohibited the flying of drones over the area.

References

{{Reflist Sinkholes Sinkholes of Mexico Landforms of Mexico Landforms of Puebla 2021 in Mexico

First appearance and developments

See also

References