"Preliminary reports say at least 50 houses were heavily damaged ... and others suffered moderate damage," Ricardo Molina, spokesman for National Coordination for Disaster Relief told AFP.

The alarm was raised after land that had been sinking in recent days began to shake, opening huge sink holes and damaging houses, he said.

Luz Emilia Gonzales, another emergency official, said the phenomenon was probably caused by heavy flooding of the nearby Platanitos River over the past week, creating an inlet through which river water poured through the subsoil into the underground stream.

TERRA.WIRE