WATCH: Video Shows Moment Before Sinkhole Swallows 2 Florida Homes
Body camera video from police captured the terrifying moments before a sinkhole swallowed up two homes in a Florida community Friday. Officers can be seen evacuating residents on Ocean Pines Drive in Land O’Lakes before the structures caved in.
Pasco County Deputy Jason Murphy’s body cam captured the frightening minutes on video.
Read: Sinkhole Swallows Two Homes In Florida
“We have somebody from emergency management assessing it now,” Murphy can be heard saying to a resident who asked when they might be able to return home. “He suggests that it is going to move towards the lake. So it will be what he determines on what time and if you guys are allowed to come back.”
The sinkhole swallowed up Friday the entirety of one home and most of another on the street. Ten homes were evacuated as a precaution. The sinkhole, however, was still widening Wednesday. What began as a minor depression beneath a boat in someone’s backyard was 235 feet wide and 50 feet deep, according to measurements taken that afternoon.
Authorities said Wednesday they were preparing residents in at least two more homes for evacuation as a moment’s notice. The people living in both houses were asked to gather up anything they might need to leave at the drop of a hat.
“This is not a time for panic,” Kevin Guthrie, Pasco County’s assistant administrator for public safety, said Wednesday. “We have people out here monitoring this sinkhole, monitoring the expansion. We will let people know if 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.”
Engineers were deployed to secure the crumbling edges of the sinkhole Wednesday and equipment was brought in to begin cleaning debris from the devastated homes. As for when the evacuated residents might be able to return, officials said it remained unclear.
“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 common in Florida due to the composition of bedrock in the state: The carbonate rock that comprises much of the ground is often dissolved by water being held inside. Sinkholes can appear virtually anywhere, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. In fact, the first home completely swallowed by the sinkhole Friday was already the victim of a sinkhole in 2012. According to property records, the sinkhole was stabilized at the time.
Read: Massive Sinkhole In Florida Getting Wider As Evacuations Continue
If homeowners want to rebuild their houses on the property, however, the county would be obligated to let them, according to Guthrie.
“We’re going to take a look at all the options,” he 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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