Photos: Possible Sinkhole Swallows Truck in Florida

Citrus County Fire Rescue is investigating a sinkhole that opened up in Pine Ridge, swallowing a truck in the process.

The hole opened up at a home off of West Breckenridge Court, according to the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.

“Apparently the sinkhole opened up from drilling a well at the home,” the sheriff’s office wrote on its Facebook page. “Thankfully, nobody was injured and everyone made it out okay. There is also no damage to the home.”

Smaller depressions have been making headlines in the Port Richey and Holiday areas with a number opening up since late last year. In November, a depression on Torch Street in Holiday sucked in a car. Six families were initially displaced following that occurrence.

See Also:

• Sinkhole Swallows Man Sleeping in Bed Near Brandon
• Another Depression Opens in Holiday Area
• 3rd Sinkhole Could be Developing in Holiday Neighborhood
• 2nd Possible Sinkhole Opens in Holiday Neighborhood
• Update: Possible Sinkhole Displaces 6 Families, Swallows Car

Within a few days of the initial depression’s opening, several more opened in the ground around Holiday, including one near Anclote River Park. As it is in Citrus County, no injuries were reported.

A lack of injuries, however, is not always the case. A sinkhole that opened up in the Seffner area in 2013 did so under the bed of Jeffrey Bush, 36. Bush was sleeping at the time and was not recovered from the cavern that opened up under his home. The sinkhole in that case was estimated at 50 feet.

It is currently unclear just how big the sinkhole in Citrus County is.

“Sinkholes are a natural component of Florida’s landscape,” the Florida Geological Survey explains in an educational flier. “In the simplest sense, sinkholes are depressions in the land surface resulting from the dissolution of underlying bedrock. Their size depends on the local geology.”

The number of sinkholes that open up in Florida each year totals in the thousands. The Office of Insurance Regulation reported more than 2,300 sinkhole-related claims in 2006, the Weather Channel stated. By 2010, that number had jumped to 6,700 claims. The agency estimated the associated costs around $1.4 billion between 2006 and 2010.

To learn more about sinkholes, check out the state’s flier.

Photos courtesy of the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office