Sinkhole near Tampa threatens more homes

LAND O’LAKES — Ralph Terry, a 73-year-old retiree who lives in a sleepy neighborhood in this Tampa Bay suburb, seems particularly sanguine about living just a few doors down from a gaping void in the earth.

“I don’t see no cracks in my blocks in my house,” he said, peering out the front door of his house at the massive hole that has left seven of his neighbors’ homes condemned. “And anyway, I’m tying a rope to my waist at night and tying it to the tree out back.”

Terry conceded he’s ready to leave at a moment’s notice, which is probably a good thing.

Officials say more homes could possibly be condemned because of the massive sinkhole that has already made seven homes unlivable, including two that were consumed entirely by the collapsing hole. There were no injuries.

“I believe that future homes will be condemned based on the fact that we are getting technical surveys back and engineering reports back that say that some of the properties are not safe,” said Pasco County administrator Kevin Guthrie.

The sinkhole opened July 14. It now stretches about 260 feet at its widest point.

People in the two destroyed homes and five condemned homes have been helped by the United Way if they don’t have family or friends to stay with.

Terry says he’s seen neighbors whose homes haven’t been condemned leave because they’re scared. “There’s people been in here with U-Hauls, loading their furniture and everything. At least I haven’t had to do that. Yet.”

He added that he’s lived in the neighborhood for a year and a half and that it’s a great place to live — or was, until the earth decided to cave in. He doesn’t think he could sell his home now.

Florida is highly prone to naturally occurring sinkholes because there are limestone caverns underground; limestone is a porous rock that easily dissolves in water.

Acidic rain can, over time, eat away the limestone and natural caverns that lie under much of the state, causing sinkholes. Both extremely dry weather and very wet weather can trigger sinkholes.

State geologists generally consider March through September “sinkhole season” because that’s when the state receives most of its rainfall.

In 2013 in Florida, a 37-year-old man was killed when a hole opened up under his bedroom. That sinkhole opened in Hillsborough County, about an hour south of this sinkhole.

Engineering experts said it was too dangerous to retrieve the man’s body, so they demolished the home and filled the hole with gravel.