Giant Sinkhole Appears in Central Florida, Topples Traffic Lights in SR 35

By Danielle Ong First Posted: Jun 08, 2020 03:35 AM EDT

A giant sinkhole has opened up near the Baseline Landfill in Marion County, Central Florida on Sunday morning, toppling traffic control lights at the intersection of State Road 35 and Dogwood Road.

According to a report from Florida Highway Patrol, the cable lines that held up the lights fell right into the ground, causing a traffic crash. A 60-year-old driver traveling southbound was injured after his vehicle hit the downed cable, causing it to rise and flip over before coming to a rest in the intersection.

The heavy rains brought by Tropical Storm Cristobal caused the apparent sinkhole that measured 35 feet wide and 20 feet deep.

Response

Marion County's Sherriff Sergeant Paul Bloom claimed it is still too early to repair the road, citing the still-growing hole and expected rainfall for the delay. The sheriff said authorities were dispersed to ensure the public's safety.

An article at the WMFE website said that according to Bloom, whether or not the collapsed ground was a sinkhole has yet to be determined.

"I just tell the public whenever we have a lot of rain like this, just be aware, use caution," the article quoted Bloom. "That's another reason not to drive really fast in the rain - not that this person was driving fast. But to just drive with caution, because you never know what is up ahead of you in a rain like this, certainly in Florida."

County officials reopened two lanes of Baseline Road later in the day.

Florida's Sinkholes

The state of Florida has seen a large number of sinkholes in recent years. Experts believe it is partly due to the location of the state, which is built on a bedrock of carbonate. The rock becomes acidic when it dissolves in rainwater, creating cavities in the terrain. During a drought, the groundwater supporting the cavities empty out, leading to ground collapse.

Man-made developments also contribute to an increase in sinkhole incidents. Earth-moving equipment, parking lots and paved roads, and buried infrastructure can disrupt the water table that keeps the karst stable.

Florida has four different sinkhole zones.

Zone 1 often see shallow sinkholes. Cities located in this region include Miami, Coral Springs, and Hollywood.
Zone 2 sits on permeable soil that ranges from 20 to 200 feet in thickness. Cities including Fort Lauderdale, Port St. Lucie, and Orlando often experience small cover subsidence.
In the third region, cities like Tampa, Tallahassee, and St. Petersburg suffer from abrupt collapse sinkholes due to a cohesive and low-permeable soil.
In Zone 4, sinkholes are rare. The region, which includes Jacksonville and St, Augustine, has deeply inter-bedded carbonate rocks and cohesive sands. However, collapse and small subsidence sinkholes can still occur.

There are many different early warning signs of sinkhole activity. Signs include: