100-foot wide Fla. sinkhole forces two families to evacuate
(CBS News) - A giant sinkhole about 100 feet wide and 50 feet deep has forced two Windermere, Fla. families to leave their homes.
The sinkhole began opening up at 7 a.m. Thursday near a residence that a family of six had been renting, according to CBS affiliate WKMG in Orlando, Fla. The Orange County Building Department helped the two adults and four children move as many of their personal belongings as possible and relocated them to relatives' homes for temporary housing.
"We just moved in, we just got all the decorations on the wall and my wife woke me up and said there was a hole in the backyard," Lou Lambros said to WKMG. "My wife said she was hearing little pops, and when we went downstairs she could actually hear the grass tearing apart and falling into the hole."
Their neighbors were also forced to evacuate. The sinkhole still continues to grow.
No one knows what caused the sinkhole to form, but dry weather conditions -- which are prevalent in the area -- may have aided to the phenomenon. The hole has already consumed four trees and a hammock, and a fifth tree is teetering at the edge. The bottom of the sinkhole is filled with ground water.
The owner of the first home is in California, and is watching the process on TV. A representative from the management company told WKMG that the home is covered by sinkhole insurance coverage.
