• The terrifying incident was captured on CCTV in the city of Abaetetuba
  • Gigantic craters, caused by water erosion, opened up in the ground
  • Electrical wires above the houses started snapping - giving a warning sign
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Terrifying: Residents in a town in the north of Brazil screamed in horror as they watched their homes disappear into massive sink holes on the weekend
Residents in a town in the north of Brazil screamed in horror as they watched their homes disappear into massive sink holes on the weekend.

The terrifying incident was captured on CCTV cameras in the city of Abaetetuba in the northern state of Para.

These pictures show the moment gigantic craters, caused by water erosion, open up in the ground and swallow dozens of houses.


Moments before the disaster happened, electrical wires above the houses started snapping and breaking.

This was the warning sign that more than likely saved people's lives - as no-one was injured in the disaster.

Panicking residents can be seen frantically running to a house on the right of the screen as a woman on the first floor resorts to desperate measures by throwing her child out of a window.

The child is caught and quickly whisked away by helpers.

Quick thinking neighbours then bring a ladder to the house to help the woman escape.

She is seven months pregnant and seconds after climbing down, the building she was in collapses backwards on itself like a pack of cards.

Then the ground opens up and everything starts to sink into it. The images are dramatic and shocking to watch.

For the home owners, who had run to a safe distance, it was a devastating moment. All they could do was watch in horror as their possessions and livelihoods vanished into ever increasing chasms before their eyes.

More than 300 people of the 78,000 town-residents have been displaced by the landslide.

'A hole just opened up and sliced crossed the street engulfing all the houses around," said a shocked Selma Costa, who lives in the area.

'Nobody can believe what happened. Houses were simply swallowed by the hole. Even the supermarket and an office went into the hole' she reported.

'Cracks just started opening up in the ground and huge craters appeared. Trucks, homes, everything went into the river," said another resident.

Many people tried fruitlessly to save their possessions.

'We worked so hard for everything and in the end we have lost everything,' lamented Alfredo Rodrigues, a farmer and one of the residents hit by the landslide.

The area affected by the erosion borders the Maracatuíra river, which runs through the town.

According to environmental experts who have been inspecting the area, the construction of houses close to the river and the uncontrolled growth of the neighbourhood are at the root of the problem, and are the main cause of the tragedy.

Environmentalists warn that the removal of vegetation from the an area close to the banks of a river to make way for development affects the soils rate of absorption.

Water that would have previously infiltrated tree and plant roots is no longer absorbed naturally and with nowhere to go soaks into and begins to erode the earth.

In the days leading up to the disaster, river levels had risen to a dangerous high.

The sink holes in Abaetetuba are believed to have been caused by a wearing away of soil and rock as the build up of water undermined the stability in the land.

The authorities have already warned that if the river continues to swell, then residents can expect more damage and losses to the surrounding area.

On Monday the local authority declared a state of emergency and the area affected has been declared a no-go zone.

Families with nowhere to go have been put up in the local gymnasium.

Others are living with relatives unaffected by the devastation.