The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office reported that despite a sinkhole that has reopened at the same location where it first appeared in 2013, which swallowed a Seffner man while he slept, it is safe for residents of nearby neighbourhoods to stay in their homes.
It is situated at 240 Faithway Drive in Seffner on a county conservation property.
According to county officials, they received a call at about 4:30pm on Monday informing them that the sinkhole had reopened, and deputies and fire crews were dispatched to the area.
Engineers will visit the scene on Tuesday to evaluate the sinkhole, which Hillsborough County code enforcement official John-Paul Lavandeira estimates to be about 12 feet by 12 feet in size.
Jeffrey Bush was sucked into a sinkhole in his bedroom in March 2013 while it was still dark outside a house on Faithway Drive. Jeremy Bush, his brother, made valiant attempts to save him but was unsuccessful.
The body was never found by the crew.
"This is not uncommon what we’re seeing out here with reoccurrences. It’s actually the preferred way of doing it. The way handled it the first time," Lavandeira said.
"The way we filled it. That way when there’s a reoccurrence it’s in a controlled area like you see behind me with the double fences so we can kind of control the situation," he explained.
According to Lavandeira, there are a few ways to fill a sinkhole, and one of them involves using gravel and liquid. This method is flexible, and if a reoccurrence occurs at that point, it will happen again, FOX13 reported.
"The depression isn’t going to find another place to try and meander," he stated. "It will stay right there, and it’s the easiest point of attack, so that’s really the best situation in this scenario. We can actually control when and if there is a recurrence."
He added, "This is something that is out of all of our control. This is a Mother Nature thing. This isn’t a man-made scenario, but we do have a plan in place. We have the right experts in place. This is under control. There is a reason why there are double fences where this thing is."
The site is closed to the public and secured with two layers of fencing.
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