TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — About 20 residents in six homes at a mobile home park along Florida’s Gulf Coast were evacuated Wednesday after a 60-foot-wide, 35-foot-deep hole opened in the ground.
The residents at the Tarpon Shores Mobile Home Park in Tarpon Springs were taken to the park’s nearby clubhouse as a precaution while officials took a closer look at the hole, said city spokeswoman Judy Staley.
The Tampa Bay Times reported that authorities were investigating if a water line break was responsible or if the deep hole was a naturally occurring sinkhole.
Dave Haver was in his backyard workshop when the hole opened up. He said he heard crunching and cracking, and about 20 feet of his white fence disappeared.
Haver and his wife, Becky, are snowbirds from Ohio and they had planned to return this weekend. But they said they will likely head back to Ohio immediately since the opening of the hole will prevent them from using their home for the time being.
Police knocked on their front door and told them “hurry up and get out,” right after they were able to grab clothes, medications, paper work and other necessities.
“We were getting ready to leave, but we didn’t expect to leave under these terms,” Becky Haver said.