The danger of sinkholes

The Orlando Sentinel reminds us of the danger of sinkholes around Florida, by printing the recollection of a now 94-year-old woman who survived the 1981 Winter Park sinkhole.

From http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/loca...-home-headlines:
 
Mae Rose Williams doesn't like to talk about her bad times.
Her first husband died 70 years ago, leaving her with five elementary-age children to raise.
She turned 94 on Jan. 28, having buried four of her five children.
Despite the heartache, she considers herself fortunate.
(...) "I don't believe in things happening out of the blue," said Williams as she sat in her wheelchair in the DePugh Nursing Center, just two blocks from where she watched the famed Winter Park sinkhole swallow the home where she raised all of her children.
(...) For many years after the loss of her home, Williams said she could not even walk past the gaping 260,000-cubic-foot sinkhole. There were too many memories.
(...) At sunrise that Saturday morning, Williams said she saw a hole that was big enough to swallow the full-grown tree. Then she heard a noise "like giant beavers chewing," and the gaping hole began devouring more land.
Her relatives were allowed to move her furniture and belongings out of the home, and Williams moved into the Browns' Winter Park home. She stayed there with her son, Chet, while her new house was being built.
(...) Sinkholes are found throughout Florida. Just about all of the region's round lakes formed as sinkholes. But the 1981 Winter Park sinkhole, now Lake Rose for homeowner Mae Rose Williams, was a whopper, largely because of its size and its urban location. When it stopped growing, it measured 350 feet wide, 75 feet deep and caused $4 million in damage.

Very interesting facts. Anyone who has ever visited one of Florida's many, many caves knows that the ground beneath us is not as solid as it looks!

07:16 AM