Sinkhole swallows 2 homes; others evacuated in Pasco County

A couple of homes have been destroyed and nine others have been evacuated in Pasco County after a sinkhole was discovered Friday morning. 

"It was frightening," said Kevin Guthrie, assistant county administrator for public safety. "I guarantee the people who were coming out of these homes were frightened."

As of 3:30 p.m., the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said the hole was still growing and had swallowed a swimming pool and a boat. The hole could be 50 feet deep and 250 feet wide. Officials were continuing to advise homeowners near the sinkhole that they should prepare for evacuation if one is called. 

"You could feel the asphalt is very soft," Guthrie said. "We're going to continue to see it grow. It's slowing down from how it was moving earlier. It was moving at 25 feet per hour this morning. Now it's moving at maybe five to 10 feet per hour. We don't know when it will stop."

No injuries have been reported. Sheriff's officials also rescued some pets in the homes affected.

 "Our hearts and thoughts go out to everyone in this community," Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco said. "This is Mother Nature and we don't know where it's going to go."

For insurance purposes, Florida statutes define a sinkhole as a landform created when ground water dissolves soil, sediment or rock, creating a subterranean void that leads to a collapse. 

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The U.S. Geological Survey said Florida is one of seven states where sinkholes are most likely to occur. Pasco has had a sinkhole develop in the same area where the homes were destroyed Friday, Guthrie said. A longtime Pasco firefighter described it as the biggest sinkhole he had ever seen in the county, Guthrie said.