Florida Sinkholes Update: Holes Continue to Open in Residential Areas [PHOTO]
Three separate sinkholes have opened up in the last week all within a Tampa Bay neighborhood, swallowing a car and causing issues amongst the residents.
The first hole formed a week ago Monday, engulfing a car to the bumper before it stopped expanding. The sinkhole grew to roughly 10 feet deep by 10 feet wide, according to the Pasco County Emergency Management. The vehicle owner, Anna Maria Boi-Jones, was not in the car when it fell into the ground but did have to flee her mobile home, which was near the edge and has since been condemned.
"This is a shock, there's no place I have to go anymore," Boi-Jones told local NBC affiliate WFLA. Five other mobile homes in the surrounding vicinity besides Boi-Jones' were evacuated.
The second sinkhole, which also reached about a 10-foot-wide diameter, opened on a nearby paved road but didn't affect cars or homes. The third hole formed just a quarter mile away in a driveway on Saturday, rolling a car into the 6-foot-deep crater, according to The Associated Press. The home connected to the street from the driveway has been temporarily evacuated.
Despite the prevalence of these naturally forming holes, Fox News reported that engineers have yet to confirm for sure this phenomena is a series of sinkholes.
Spokesman for Pasco County, Doug Tobin, announced repair work on a sewer lift station near where the sinkholes had formed was suspended because of the subsurface activity but didn't say whether the construction had caused these holes. Residents are concerned with how many and how quickly these sinkholes are developing in the area.
"I hope they fix it and find out what's going on," Pasco resident Debbie Adams said. Adams added the situation is "scary, very scary."
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