Tropical Storm Agatha blows a hole in Guatemala City

Hundreds dead as torrential rain sweeps Central America. Sinkhole in Guatemala swallows three-story building

A sinkhole that swallowed a three-storey building in Guatemala City has been blamed on a combination of Tropical Storm Agatha and poor drainage systems. Photograph: Luis Echeverria/AP

(By Peter Walker, The U.K. Guardian) - Tropical Storm Agatha swept across Central America yesterday, bringing torrential rain that killed more than 100 people and opened a 60m-deep sinkhole in Guatemala City which reportedly swallowed up a three-story building.

The first named storm of the 2010 Pacific season dumped more than a meter of rain in parts of Guatemala, also hitting El Salvador and Honduras. At least 113 people were reported killed, with around 50 missing in Guatemala alone as rescue workers searched through the rubble.

The 30m-diameter sinkhole opened up in a northern district of Guatemala City, with residents blaming the rains and substandard drainage systems. Local reports said one man was killed when the building was swallowed. In 2007, three people died when a similar sinkhole appeared in the same area.