Sometimes the ground beneath our feet decides it’s had enough—and opens up without warning. Whether through sinkholes, landslides, volcanic collapses, or seismic shifts, Earth has a dark side that occasionally tries to swallow entire towns.
Here are 10 times Earth almost literally tried to erase a town from the map.
1. Guatemala City Sinkhole – 2010, Guatemala
In 2010, a perfectly round, 100-foot-deep sinkhole opened in the middle of Guatemala City, swallowing a three-story factory and part of a street.
Caused by volcanic activity, torrential rain from a tropical storm, and weak underground infrastructure, this giant hole looked like it had been drilled straight to the center of the Earth.
2. Bayou Corne Sinkhole – Louisiana, USA (2012)
In a rural Louisiana community, a salt dome collapse created a 37-acre sinkhole that devoured trees, swamps, and even part of a natural gas pipeline.
Residents were evacuated, and the town was eventually abandoned. The ground is still unstable to this day.
3. Vajont Dam Disaster – Italy, 1963
A massive landslide fell into the Vajont Dam’s reservoir, causing a wave of water to leap over the dam and crash into the towns below.
Nearly 2,000 people died as entire villages were wiped out in seconds. It wasn’t the dam that failed—it was the mountain.
4. Subangdaku Landslide – Leyte, Philippines (2006)
A massive landslide triggered by weeks of rain and a small quake buried the entire village of Guinsaugon in the Philippines.
Over 1,000 people were killed, including an entire school full of children. The town was buried so quickly, rescue was nearly impossible.
5. Joplin Tornado Sinkholes – Missouri, USA (2011)
After a powerful EF5 tornado tore through Joplin, Missouri, sinkholes began appearing across the area. The storm disrupted groundwater systems and eroded underground cavities.
Several neighborhoods experienced collapsing streets and lawns as if the Earth was continuing the destruction the wind had started.
6. Thistle, Utah – USA, 1983
A slow-moving landslide dammed a river and caused it to back up into the town of Thistle, eventually flooding and destroying it completely.
The town was abandoned and left beneath a lake—one of the costliest landslides in U.S. history.
7. Holesov Sinkhole Cluster – Czech Republic, 2018
A series of mysterious sinkholes appeared in the town of Holesov, some big enough to threaten homes. They were caused by collapsed underground tunnels from an old mine—forgotten and unstable.
Locals were forced to evacuate as Earth opened its mouth beneath their feet.
8. Picher, Oklahoma – USA, 2008
Once a bustling mining town, Picher was abandoned after years of lead and zinc extraction left underground tunnels ready to collapse. Sinkholes opened up across the town, swallowing streets and foundations.
By 2009, the government declared it too dangerous to live in. Picher is now a ghost town.
9. St. Jean Vianney, Quebec – Canada, 1971
The ground gave way under this small town due to a rare type of landslide in sensitive clay soil. It destroyed 40 homes and killed 31 people in minutes.
The entire town was evacuated and abandoned. Nothing remains but a warning sign in the woods.
10. Tangshan Earthquake – China, 1976
This magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck without warning and flattened almost the entire city of Tangshan, killing over 240,000 people—making it one of the deadliest quakes in recorded history.
The ground didn’t just crack—it buckled, shattered, and crushed a major urban center overnight.
These events are reminders that Earth isn’t always as stable as it seems. Sometimes it yawns, shifts, or snaps—and when it does, entire towns can vanish.
