Disney World Sinkhole: Florida Hole Swallows Resort and Guest Villa
A 60-foot wide, 15-foot deep sinkhole swallowed parts of Summer Bay Resort in Clermont, Fla. Sunday night.
The resort, located just 10 miles west of Disney World, sits on 64-acre near a lake and has a three-story guest villa with 24 units. During the sinking, approximately 20 people were staying in the resort, says Fox News.
Loud noises -- a window suddenly popping -- at 10:30 p.m. Sunday prompted a guest to call security guard Richard Shanley. According to CBS News, Shanley had just reported the incident to resort management when another window popped. The management decided to have the guests evacuate the entire building, which took about 10 to 15 minutes.
"It's a scary situation," said Shanley, who to knocked on doors of the villa to wake up guests.
The guest villa reportedly sank 10 to 20 inches before the evacuation started. About 40 minutes after the evacuation, a great part of the guest villa had completely been destroyed. By 3 a.m. on Monday, 30 percent of the guest villa had already collapsed.
Guests of Summer Bay Resort and the management, including resort President Paul Caldwell, are very grateful to Shanley for his efforts in evacuating all the guests quickly.
"His quick thinking, in my opinion, saved lives, or limbs, or injuries," Caldwell said. Fortunately, all guests were safe and unharmed according to officials. Most of the guests were not able to bring valuable items along with them such as cash, car keys, medication and other personal items.
"My heart sunk. I was sick to my stomach," said Caldwell in a Chicago Tribune report.
The three-story guest villa was not the only building affected by the sinkhole. According to Dora Dembley, an employee of the resort, there were at least two buildings affected by the incident, including the three-story building whose "front was sheared off and appeared to sink into the ground."
Summer Bay Resort also has other condominiums and vacation houses in addition to the guest villa, totaling over 900 units spread across the property. All evacuees were relocated to other guest houses and villas in the resort.
Engineers are still confirming whether the gaping hole is indeed a sinkhole, says the Chicago Tribune. Earlier this year, a similar incident occurred in Tampa, Fla., when a 36-year old man died when a sinkhole swallowed his home.