Sinkholes in Seffner, Fort Myers, Tallahassee, and now even closer. Follow the Withlacoochee River south to the Suwannee River, and two counties south of us in Suwannee County, Florida, they’ve got dozens of sinkholes, one of them massive, with another one this month, including apparently a cavern under some yards. This is in the same Floridan Aquifer that underlies Lowndes County, where we had a road drop into a sinkhole three years ago and sinkholes were discovered under a man’s garage and yard last year.

Greg Gullberg 4 March 2013, The Science Behind Sinkholes,

Mikell Cook says he and his neighbors have learned more about Geology than they ever cared to since last summer when Tropical Storm Debby swept through much of Florida leaving Live Oak and surrounding areas peppered with sinkholes.

He and his neighbors live in the town of McAlpin, where

just his property and the one next to it play host to more than 60 sinkholes including one massive one, known as the McAlpin Grand Canyon.

And more than half a year later it continues, another one just opened up Thursday. These neighbors believe there’s a whole cavern under their yards they didn’t know about until Debby.

“What’s so scary about it is you never know when they’re going to break out, how big they’re going to be and how devastating they’re going to be,” said Mikell Cook.

Unlike some reporters farther south, Greg Gullberg knows there are causes for sinkholes:

Sinkholes can be triggered by heavy rainfall, heavy drought and excessive pumping of groundwater. Homeowners should look for warning signs. Sinkholes come in clusters, so look for cracks in the walls and depressions in the yard.

Warning signs like this, under Michael McCormick’s house and garage right here in Lowndes County?

What will the Lowndes County Commission do about this?

-jsq

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