EFE
A sinkhole in Florida that swallowed a man sleeping in his home in March 2013 opened for the third time, although this time without fatalities or property damage, local authorities reported.
Officials in Hillsborough County, in western Florida (USA), indicated that the hole, up to six meters wide, opened on Monday afternoon, as reported by Fox News on Wednesday.
The opening of the sinkhole, located in the suburb of Seffner, outside of Tampa, did not produce major consequences since it has been fenced off since it was opened ten years ago.
On that occasion, the sinkhole swallowed Jeffrey Bush, 37, who was sleeping in his room at the time.
Five other people escaped unharmed, including the victim's brother, Jeremy Bush, who tried unsuccessfully to dig and rescue his relative. Jeffrey's body was never recovered by firefighters.
Local authorities then declared that the soil in the area was too unstable and ordered the demolition of what remained of the house, as well as two other adjacent houses, after which they fenced off the area.
As county official Jon-Paul Lavandeira reported on Tuesday, the sinkhole reopened in 2015 and was filled with a mixture of water and gravel, which is what will be used to fill it again this time.
"It's the preferred way to do it, the way it was handled the first time. The way we filled it. That way, when there's a recurrence, it's in a controlled area like the one you see behind me, with the double fences so we can control the situation," Lavandeira said at a press conference.
Sinkholes are a common feature of the Florida landscape, especially in the central part of the state, according to the Department of Environmental Protection, which points out that this is because the peninsula is made up of porous rocks, such as limestone, that store and help move groundwater.
Florida is the state in the country where these sudden land subsidences occur most frequently. They are caused by the composition of the subsoil, which causes accumulated water to saturate the ground and flow into existing cavities, resulting in the movement of the earth.
