EDITORIAL - Sinkhole

Five months ago, a three-story building disappeared into a giant sinkhole in Guatemala City. Estimated to be about 200 feet deep, the sinkhole was believed to have been partly manmade, with rains spawned by tropical storm Agatha eroding building foundations that were already weakened by faulty sewage and drainage pipes. According to some reports, a similar gaping hole had appeared in the city in 2007 and was blamed on sewage softening a naturally weak soil foundation.

Earlier this week a similar phenomenon was reported, this time in one of the world’s most technologically advanced countries. The crater that opened up in the German town of Schmalkalden was much smaller, at 20 meters deep, than the one in Guatemala, swallowing only a car and garage door. But it should be just as troubling to Filipinos, especially those whose homes could be sitting on potential giant craters as a result of either natural factors or manmade activities.

Experts have pointed out that a real sinkhole is a natural phenomenon resulting from geological movements. In this country, much smaller craters have been seen in some mining areas, and buildings have sunk into the ground due to liquefaction during major earthquakes. As in storm Agatha, many typhoons in this country have brought incessant torrential rains that have caused soil erosion. But instead of sinkholes or craters, the rains have unleashed tons of mud that have killed thousands in recent years, from the residents of Cherry Hills subdivision in Antipolo to the villagers of Ginsaugon in southern Leyte to residents around the slopes of Mayon volcano in Albay.

Despite such grievous tragedies, houses and buildings are still built indiscriminately in many parts of the country, with poor structural engineering employed in planning and construction. In Manila, a commercial building in Divisoria slumped into an adjacent structure apparently after its foundation was weakened by road drilling nearby. With such cavalier attitude toward safety, it is possible that a massive crater will open up somewhere in this country due to bad drainage and a generally weak geological foundation. Earthquakes and typhoons heighten the possibility. That crater in Germany should remind the government of the need to prepare for disaster.