Brazilian city in Amazon declares emergency after huge sinkholes appear

In Buriticupu, about 1,200 people risk losing their homes, and residents have seen the problem escalate in 30 years

Authorities in a city in the Brazilian Amazon have declared a state of emergency after huge sinkholes opened up, threatening hundreds of homes.

Several buildings in Buriticupu, in Maranhao state, have already been destroyed, and about 1,200 people of a population of 55,000 risk losing their homes into a widening abyss.