Understanding Florida Sink Holes

The latest sink hole in Florida nearly swallowed a vacation hotel building near Disneyworld whole earlier this week. Approximately 130 people were left without their belongings or a place to spend the night. Guests staying in adjacent buildings were also evacuated to reduce the risk of any person being injured. This event has brought attention to Florida’s sink holes, what they are and why do they happen.  

Sinkholes are caused naturally but they can be triggered by outside events and people can get seriously injured or die. In Florida they are occurring at their regular rate but it’s the high-profile nature of the recent one that has drawn attention to the severity of their occurrence.

In the U.S., Florida is known to have the most sink holes out of any other state and is beginning to become synonymous with the landscape of the state of Florida, similar to its beautiful beaches, alligators, and palm trees. From 2006 to 2010, the state Office of Insurance Regulation said sinkhole claims in Florida cost insurers approximately $1.4 billion.

There are three counties in the Tampa region that are known as “sinkhole alley.” And two-thirds of sinkhole damage claims reported to the state Office of Insurance Regulation from 2006 to 2010 came from Hernando, Hillsborough and Pasco counties. But in the state’s two most populous counties — Broward and Miami-Dade – sink holes are less likely to occur.

Florida’s peninsula is made up of porous carbonate rocks like limestone that helps store and move groundwater. Dirt, sand and clay sit on top of the carbonate rock and over time, these rocks tend to dissolve from an acid created by oxygen in the water and create a void underneath the limestone roof. When the dirt, clay or sand gets too heavy for the limestone roof, it can collapse and form a sinkhole.

According to the state Office of Insurance Regulation, reported claims from sinkholes have risen in recent years. In 2006 there were approximately 2,300 claims filed in Florida but that figure nearly tripled by 2010 to almost 6,700 claims. There is no geological explanation for the rise of them occurring and state insurance officials believe many claims are questionable. There must be structural damage to a home for a policyholder to claim a loss, but insurance officials say claims are often paid without that proof.

If you are in a home that begins to rattle, then the windows start to explode and the ceiling begins to fall, get out of there fast to prevent personal injury. Those are some signals that people who were in the hotel building that collapsed experienced.  Make sure that all others in the building are also alarmed and evacuated.

And if you were injured during a sinkhole accident and are seeking compensation because the owners of the building were negligent, contact an injury lawyer today.