Orange County Sinkhole Swallows Swimming Pool, Residents Move Out (VIDEO, PHOTO)
An Orange County sinkhole has stunned locals after a family swimming pool was swallowed up by the latest in a series of sinkholes to hit the nation.
Suzanne Blumenauer was reportedly celebrating her birthday on Monday night, and when she returned to her Winter Park home, she was given the shock of her life. She looked out into her garden and saw that her pool had been fractured and was empty, and was sinking into the ground.
She said, "I must be dreaming. I didn't know what to think," according to The Orlando Sentinel.
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Building inspectors were called out to the residence on Tuesday and are currently investigating what might have caused the hole.
Investigators believe that the 40 foot deep and 50 foot wide hole appears to have stabilized by itself through the night, and they are still not at a stage where they can officially label the phenomena a sinkhole.
Robert Amato, an Orange County building inspector, has said, "We don't even know if it is a sinkhole. It doesn't look like it moved since yesterday."
Blumenauer has since moved out of her house and is staying with friends as investigators assess the damage and determine whether it would be safe for her to return.
The edge of the hole is said to be about 20 feet from the home right now, and could even threaten the neighboring properties.
Some local residents have blamed a construction project taking place at the nearby Lake Killarney for the sinkhole. Workers have been installing a number of drainage wells near the lake for the past week now, and some locals have claimed to have felt shaking and vibrations in their homes when their equipment is drilling.
Rainfall has been another potential reason identified for the sinkhole, and there has been a significant increase in rainfall in the area.
Here is a video of the Orange County sinkhole:
