There’s a big hole: the floor next to the Chilean high-rise is breaking

A huge hole remains
The ground next to the Chilean skyscraper is crumbling

08/24/2023 11:02 pm

There are many disaster scenarios for tall buildings. Fire or collapse is very common. A large hole in the ground threatens stability. In Chile, a building in an exclusive residential area has just been attacked. The trigger could be an overloaded sewer system.

After heavy rains, a large hole has opened up in the ground in an exclusive residential area on Chile’s Pacific coast. A multi-storey house on the brink of demolition was evacuated. On Thursday, residents of the Edificio Kandinsky, with the help of police, took their personal belongings from the apartment, according to a video released by radio station Cooperativa. More recently, parts of Chile have reported exceptionally high rainfall.

According to initial findings, an underground rainwater catchment collapsed and triggered a landslide in the hills between the cities of Cancún and Viña del Mar in the Valparaiso region. Due to the heavy rain then, the sinkhole became bigger and parts of the coastal road were also washed away.

According to Mayor Macarena Ribamonti, recently more buildings have been connected to the sewage system, which apparently exceeded the capacity of the collection tank.