@reuters: Massive sinkholes in the city of Buriticupu, on the northeastern tip of the Brazilian Amazon, have led the municipal government to declare a state of emergency. The sinkholes are an escalation of a problem that residents have been watching unfold for the last 30 years, as rain slowly erodes soils made vulnerable by their sandy nature, plus a combination of poorly planned building work and deforestation. Some 1,200 people are at risk of having their homes tip into the widening abyss. #Brazil #Amazon #Sinkholes #Environment #Reuters #News