That sinking feeling
Owners along road anxious after second, larger one opens
continues in Apopka on West Kelly Park Road as a second sinkhole opens up just half a mile from where another one started swallowing a house earlier this week.
Homeowners along West Kelly Park Road in Apopka worry they’ll be the next to helplessly watch their houses slip into the ground after two large sinkholes half a mile away opened up two days apart.
The second hole, about 30 feet wide and 30 feet deep, opened Thursday between a greenhouse and a home at 517 W. Kelly Park Road. There was no structural damage and building inspectors told the home owners to monitor the sinkhole.
The property owner declined to comment or allow media onto his property where the sinkhole caved in.
Dave Carpenter, who has lived next to the greenhouse 17 years, tried to get a glimpse of his neighbor’s sinkhole.
“I’m worried this is going to happen to me next,” he said. “You’d definitely be crazy not to worry about it.”
Just down the road, Garry and Ellen Miller have been watching their home of 49 years slip slowly into a growing hole since Tuesday morning when half their house suddenly dropped into a 20-foot-wide, 15-foot-deep hole. The hole had grown to about 40 feet wide and deep by Thursday afternoon.
On Tuesday, the Millers’ next-door neighbors packed belongings in case they needed to rush out of their house for a sudden sinkhole.
The sequence of events is not surprising for the area near Rock Springs and Wekiwa Springs State Park, where the geology is prone to sinkholes, said Devo Seereeram, Orange County sinkhole consultant and engineer. Residents should expect one or two more sinkholes in the next couple weeks, he said.
Sinkholes come in batches in the aftermath of a large storm like Hurricane Irma, Seereeram said. Six large sinkholes developed in Deroose Plants, a nursery less than a mile away from the Millers’ house, after Tropical Storm Fay in 2008.
Since Hurricane Irma stormed through Central Florida the night of Sept. 10,
“... If you have a policy, they can’t cancel you because this guy has a sinkhole and that guy has a sinkhole.” Bryan Nelson, Orange County Commissioner and independent insurance agent
56 sinkholes have been in reported in Ocala, another area prone to sinkholes, he said. Though he noted that not all sinkholes are large enough to swallow a house.
The deluge of rain triggers the sinkholes, Seereeram said. The sinkholes should stop as the rain settles into the ground, which could take about a month after the storm, he said.
But residents like the Millers and Carpenter, an airline pilot from Massachusetts who retired in Florida, didn’t know they were living on an area susceptible to sinkholes. It leaves questions for residents.
“That’s news to me. What am I supposed to do? Just upright and leave? What are the odds?” Carpenter said.
The Millers haven’t decided if they’ll rebuild on the same land. Their insurance will cover the loss of the house, but they’ll likely be left to fill the hole themselves. They applied online for assistance from FEMA.
Residents could be eligible for federal assistance if evidence ties sinkholes and washouts to Hurricane Irma, said FEMA spokesman Mark Peterson. A home inspector will investigate the causes of the sinkholes and washouts.
The Millers’ daughter, Dawn Driggers, was dubious that they could prove the sinkhole was a result of the hurricane.
Residents who already have insurance policies shouldn’t worry about their rates rising because of the recent sinkholes, said Bryan Nelson, an Orange County commissioner and an independent insurance agent. But those new to the area or looking to live there who don’t already have insurance policies might have a harder time finding an insurer who will write policies for homes there. A skeleton of a new home being built stands close by, next to the Millers’ house.
“Quite honestly, if I were looking to write a policy right around here, I probably would want to wait six months to see if things settle out,” he said. “But if you have a policy, they can’t cancel you because this guy has a sinkhole and that guy has a sinkhole.”