1.   Besides swallowing cars and disrupting traffic, the aging water lines have a long-term economic effect and pose threats to public safety, Hillman says.

2.   He escaped just before the earth opened and swallowed his car.

3.   Potholes big enough to swallow small cars multiply.

4.   Streets in several areas flooded, with the waters swallowing parked cars and drowning out the engines of several unwary motorists who tried fording the floods.

5.   Freeways were littered with accidents, and a sewer line collapsed Wednesday in suburban Industry, opening a large sinkhole that swallowed a car.

6.   The mud avalanches tore apart houses and bridges and swallowed cars in a matter of minutes.

7.   There have been several accidents including the collapse of a wall two years ago under a main square in Tehran, swallowing several cars and killing six people.