Florida Sinkhole Swallows Resort Villa
August 12, 2013
A 15-foot- (4.5-meter-) deep crater opened last night beneath a resort villa near Clermont, Florida, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of Disney World. Dozens of people staying at the 3-story, 24-unit villa managed to escape unhurt before it collapsed into the 60-foot- (18-meter-) wide sinkhole. Guests at the resort called for help before the collapse, reporting that they were hearing cracking noises and had windows blowing out.
A sinkhole is a bowl-shaped depression created when the ground collapses into an opening in the underground rock. This sinkhole formed during a flood, damaging homes and allowing contaminated floodwater to drain into groundwater supplies. (© James A Hyatt)
Sinkholes are common in Florida, which lies atop a system of limestone caverns that are subject to water erosion. Over time, the underground water dissolves the limestone, but the surface of the ground stays intact. Eventually, the void collapses, creating a sinkhole.
In February, a man asleep in bed was swallowed live when a sinkhole opened beneath his house in a Tampa suburb. His body was never recovered.
A solution cave, such as the one shown here, is formed in limestone when water dissolves sections of the rock. Many of the cave's features develop from minerals deposited by the water. (World Book diagram by Bruce Kerr)
Additional World Book article:
- Guatemala 2010 (a Back in Time article)
