

After the spectacular picture of a sinkhole in Guatemala caused by tropical storm Agatha, the Chinese internet has been abuzz with reports of large numbers of the eerily circular formations suddenly appearing across China.
Even straight-laced old Xinhua has got the bug, reporting (in one of those sensationalist, stability-busting headlines for China’s state news agency is renowned): “Cave-ins found in many areas of China”I’m sure there are lots of excellent geological, meteorological and man-made reasons why these things appear – earthquakes, droughts, old coal mine workings – but that would be far too boring for the febrile minds of China’s 400m netizens.
And looking at the pictures, I half-share their collective shiver of anticipation that these things are unnatural portents of catastrophe.
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