Massive Sinkhole Widens In Florida, Forcing Evacuation Of More Houses
A massive sinkhole that opened up last week in a Florida community is still getting wider, officials said Wednesday. What started as a small depression in the ground is now a gaping hole 235 feet wide and 50 feet deep.
The hole is about 10 feet wider than it was just a few days ago. Fortunately, it was not getting any deeper as of Wednesday afternoon, according to local authorities.
Read: Sinkhole Swallows Two Homes In Florida Neighborhood
The sinkhole fully swallowed one home and most of another in Land O’Lakes, Florida, Friday. Ten homes in the area were evacuated and officials were preparing to evacuate more. Some residents were told to gather their belongings should they have to leave at a moment’s notice.
“This is not a time for panic,” Kevin Guthrie, Pasco County’s assistant administrator for public safety, told the Associated Press. “We have somebody out here monitoring this sinkhole, monitoring the expansion. We will let people know in plenty of time that they need to get their stuff together and be ready to go. When we say, ‘Now is the time to leave,’ it’s time to leave. It’s not time to pack things up.”
The edges of the unstable sinkhole are caving in because there’s no support for the soil that has begun to dry out. Engineers said they need to get dirt around the edges right away to support the sides of the hole and were working to determine where the edges were safest. Equipment was also brought in Wednesday to begin cleaning up the debris left behind by the sinkhole’s emergency.
“We are doing everything in our power to get those folks back in these homes as fast as we can,” Guthrie said Monday.
Sinkholes are disconcertingly common in Florida thanks to the composition of the state’s soil. The carbonate rock beneath the surface stores groundwater which can dissolve the bedrock over time, causing depressions and sinkholes just about anywhere. The state as a whole has had more sinkholes than any other place in the nation, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.
Officials were working to determine what to do with the properties in the area surrounding the sinkhole. If the homeowners want to rebuild their houses, the county would have to let them, Guthrie said. County property records revealed, however, that the house swallowed Friday already fell victim to a different sinkhole in 2012, but that sinkhole was stabilized at the time.
“We’re going to take a look at all the options,” Guthrie said. “And then we will come up with the best option that works for the community, the homeowners and all those involved.”
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