Second sinkhole forms near Apopka home
Updated: Sep 21, 2017 - 5:48 PM
APOPKA, Fla. - Just days after a sinkhole partially swallowed a home in Apopka, a second sinkhole has formed on the same road.
Orange County Fire Rescue was called Thursday to a home at 517 West Kelly Park Road in Apopka.
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The 30 by 30-foot sinkhole is about 100 feet from the home, officials said.
A separate sinkhole formed Tuesday at 222 West Kelly Park Road, just a few homes away from Thursday's sinkhole.
Thursday's sinkhole, which opened up near a green house, is not endangering any property currently, officials said.
Read: Sinkhole swallows portion of Apopka home
Dave Carpenter lives next door to the new sinkhole, which has him concerned.
"You'd have to be crazy not to be worried about it if one opens right next door to you," he said.
Carpenter has owned his house for the past 17 years.
The two sinkholes have also caught the attention of Orange County Commissioner Bryan Nelson, who visited the home swallowed by a sinkhole Thursday.
"It's a total loss," he said.
Nelson, who works as an insurance agent, said the problem for homeowners in the area will be finding an insurance company to cover that area in the near future.
"Some insurance companies probably won't want to write insurance in this area until they kind of figure out what's going on," he said.
Raw video: Sinkhole swallows Apopka home
Emergency crews were called at 8:22 a.m. Tuesday to the home on West Kelly Park Road in Apopka. The family said they began noticing the depression before 7 p.m. Monday.
"I saw big, deep cracks in the bathroom. The tub was sinking and the window was coming loose, and I said, 'It's time to go,'" said homeowner Ellen Miller.
The family said they grabbed everything they could and moved it to the front lawn before their home crumbled into the 25-by-15-foot hole.
"We made it through the hurricane. We were really, really lucky, and then this," Miller said. "This is the only home I know. It's the only home my kids know."
The Millers will stay with their daughter next door while they figure out their next step.
Although it's not known if the sinkhole is related to Hurricane Irma, experts said sinkholes aren't uncommon after hurricanes.
"When you have heavy rains, the chances of sinkholes (appearing goes) up quite a bit," said Dr. Manoj Chopra, a UCF engineering professor.
He said sinkholes can form when the rain and flood water caused by hurricanes start to recede.
Sinkholes can happen suddenly. Miller said the hole under her home formed in a matter of hours.
"We watched it all night and it got bigger and deeper and finally, at 4 in the morning, I saw big deep cracks in the bathroom," she said.
Chopra expects more sinkholes to form throughout the state.
The family shared the following link to help them raise funds to cover rebuilding costs.
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