Central Californian police have captured the moment an enormous sinkhole opened up in a busy road.
The chasm was already widening when officers from the City of Madera Police Department began filming it.
The footage was posted to Facebook, where it has been watched more than 275,000 times and shared close to 5,000 times since Monday.
The post read: “A large portion of the roadway on Schnoor Avenue, north of Howard Avenue and south of 5 Street, has collapsed. It is unknown what exactly caused the damage but it is likely due to the recent rains.
"The street fell into the sewage line. So far around 12ft by 15ft section of roadway has collapsed and it is approximately 15 to 20ft deep. The roadway is expected to be closed for an extended amount of time for repair.”
Sinkholes tend to occur where the land is comprised of limestone, an already porous rock that dissolves easily acidic rainwater.