A massive sinkhole in the Japanese city of Fukuoka has swallowed a large section of road and cut power to 170 nearby households.

CNN reports that the hole was originally between 7 and 8 meters wide but soon spread to a massive 27 meters wide, 30 meters long and 15 meters deep. Nearby residents were swiftly evacuated and five major roads blocked off by authorities in the city’s central business district.

The area has become particularly dangerous as sewage pipes were destroyed by the collapse of the road, spreading waste into the sinkhole.

No official cause for the sinkhole’s opening has been given but it is thought that underground construction on a nearby subway may have triggered it.

It is not yet known how the sinkhole will be filled in and the road repaired.

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