The Florida sinkhole that opened up under a man’s bedroom claiming him and the entire room is not a rare occurrence. According to “Fox and Friends Weekend” on Sunday, March, 3, 2013, these sinkholes can happen almost anywhere in the state of Florida. They appear without warning and there's no way to predict where one will open up next.
Billy Fernandez, who is a sinkhole repair expert, joined the “Fox and Friends Weekend” show to talk about what to look for around your home as warning signs that a sinkhole may be forming. Fernandez said to look for shifting in the house's structure and doors and windows getting stuck or that won‘t open. He also said to look for leaks around the house, uneven floors and cracks in the walls. He suggests that if any of these thing occur, it‘s time to get a sinkhole inspection.
This expert reports that some of the largest sinkholes have pulled in cars and entire buildings around the world. When asked about the Florida home that has been in the news for the past few days after a man perished in his bed, Fernandez said they will most likely demolish the house.
He also said the land will probably stay vacant with nothing being built on the property again. This is his expert guess because this sinkhole is so unstable. Since 37-year-old Jeff Bush disappeared into the abyss created by this hole, building on that parcel of land again probably won't happen.
Thursday night at about 11 p.m. ET, the Bush family of Tampa heard what sounded like a car crash, followed by the screams of Jeff Bush, who had been in bed asleep. His brother Jeremy ran to his room to find the bedroom was swallowed up by a sinkhole. He could still hear his brother’s screams as he dug into the dirt trying to save him, but the sinkhole continued to pull the area around it deeper into its center. Jeff could not be saved.
The search for Bush has been called off today due to the unstable area around the sinkhole. They report at this point they believe that Bush didn't survive. They don't know if they'll ever be able to retrieve the body.
While a life being lost in a sinkhole is rare, the sinkhole is not a rare occurrence and it could happen almost anywhere in Florida without warning. According to Sandy Nettles, who owns of a geology consulting company in the Tampa area, there is really nowhere in Florida that is “immune” from sinkholes, as reported on Yahoo News Sunday.
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