ANOTHER sinkhole opens in Florida town where man was killed



Now a third sinkhole appears in Seffner, Florida just a few blocks from where Jeff Bush was killed



Latest sinkhole measures approximately 8 ft wide and is in between two homes



The first sinkhole was filled in, entombing the body of Bush, 37, who was pulled into the cavity under his home last Thursday



Days later a second sinkhole, 12 ft, appeared just streets away on Monday straddling two properties




It's been just a few weeks since Jeff Bush died after being swallowed by a sinkhole in Seffner, Florida but the scares for the town continue.



Another sinkhole emerged Saturday evening at the 1400 block of Lake Shore Drive between two houses.

According to WFLA estimates have this sinkhole measuring approximately 8 feet in width.



Another sinkhole appears in Seffner, Florida just a few weeks after Jeff Bush was killed after a sinkhole swallowed him while he was sleeping at his home

Both of the homes on either side of the sinkhole have been evacuated.



This is now the third sinkhole to emerge in the Florida town this month after a sinkhole appeared just days after the one that killed Bush.

Jeff Bush was presumed dead after he was sucked into the 30-foot-wide, 60-foot-deep hole late on March 3rd at his home in Seffner, Florida.



Three days after that workers began filling the sinkhole with crushed rocks, after authorities conceded they may never find his body.



These images, which reveal the size of the hole for the first time, came as a second sinkhole appeared just streets away. This sinkhole, which is 12-feet round, three-feet deep around the edge and five-feet deep in the center, opened beneath a fence on Monday, straddling two properties.

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First look inside: An aerial view shows the sinkhole in Seffner, Florida which opened up last Thursday and swallowed Jeff Bush from his bedroom

Revealed: The sinkhole could only be seen once the home was pulled down on Monday. But authorities believe it could reach to the neighbours' homes underground

End of the search: Officials have given up hope of finding Jeff Bush alive and filled in the hole beneath his family's home with crushed rock

Secured: The sinkhole in Seffner, Florida has now been filled with crushed rocks as authorities admitted they may never find Mr Bush's body

It does not pose an immediate danger, Hillsborough County spokesman Willie Puz said, and it did not cause any injuries or structural damage to the homes around it but buckled the fence.

Families in the neighborhood said they were leaving to stay at hotels and Laurie Goldstein, who lives across the street from the sinkhole, said she will have her home inspected for other sinkholes.

'Is it too close for comfort having it across the street? Yeah. Is my house gonna sink? Yeah it's very, it's scary,' she told WFLA .



But others were less worried: Ana Marie Serna, who owns one of the properties, said she was not concerned about the hole.

Fears: Another sinkhole opened up between two homes in Seffner, Florida on Monday, just two miles from the one which swallowed Jeff Bush on Thursday

Nearby: A map shows the distance between the first sinkhole (on Faithway Drive) and the second (Cedar Tree Lane) in Seffner, Florida

Missing: Authorities said they may never recover the body of Jeff Bush

'For me, no is strange because... the hole is little,' she said.

Puz said the latest sinkhole appears to be unrelated to the one that opened last Thursday.

'It is not geologically connected,' Puz said.

Dirt now fills the sinkhole on the Seffner lot where a home once stood.

With it being sealed, it has effectively become a tomb for Jeff Bush, who was killed when the floor opened up last week.



Bush disappeared into the hole that opened up under his bedroom on Thursday night in a scene his brother, Jeremy Bush, likened to a horror movie.



The other occupants of the house, which is owned by the family of Jeremy Bush's fiancee, had been preparing for bed when they heard a loud crash and Jeff Bush screaming.



Jeremy ran to help his brother but could only hear his screams. Firefighters arrived on the scene and pulled Jeremy away from the edge of the chasm.



On Monday, demolition crews returned to Bush's home to demolish the rest of the house - revealing the massive hole for the first time - before efforts will begin to stabilize the sinkhole.



Two nearby houses have been evacuated as the sinkhole has weakened the ground, and the residents probably will never be allowed inside again, said Jessica Damico of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.



Bush, a landscaper who mowed highway medians for a living, had moved into the four-bedroom home only two months ago which he shared with his brother, Jeremy Bush, 36, and four others.



The other adults, a two-year-old child and a dog were at the home at the time the sinkhole opened, but were not injured.

Demolition: Authorities believe the hole which swallowed Jeff Bush beneath this home was 60-ft deep and continue to carry out tests on the ground Hidden danger: Authorities believe the sinkhole could stretch under neighbours' homes and they have been evacuated

Workers recovered a family Bible, flag, military medals, a purse, teddy bears and generations of photos from the site. On Monday they also recovered two antique rifles that were family heirlooms.

Engineers placed listening devices, microphones, ground-penetrating radar and other equipment to test the soil to find whether it was safe to work and to look for any sign of life below.

They have detected no such sign ever since the hole opened up late on Thursday. Jeremy Bush said the family was discussing plans for a memorial service and a possible marker at the site.

'I'm the only one who tried to get him out,' he said, while begging county authorities to do more to find his brother's body when the lot is cleared.

The property's owner Buddy Wicker says he want's nothing to do with the home. He says he'd love a memorial placed there for Jeff Bush but the whole sequence of events made for a bizarre occurrence.



Sadness: A family member prays in front of home where Jeff Bush was killed before demolition crews tear it down

Hope: Jeremy Bush, who tried to save his brother from the sinkhole as he was sucked from his room, prays as he speaks to the media

Sinkholes in Florida are caused by the state's porous geological bedrock, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

As acidic rainwater filters into the ground, it dissolves the rock, causing erosion that can lead to underground caverns, which cause sinkholes when they collapse.

'There's hardly a place in Florida that's immune to sinkholes,' Sandy Nettles, who owns a geology consulting company in the Tampa area. 'There's no way of ever predicting where a sinkhole is going to occur.'

DANGER UNDERGROUND: WHY DO SINKHOLES OCCUR? Watch out: Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania are the states most affected by sinkholes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey A sinkhole is a hole that opens up suddenly in the ground. They mostly occur because of erosion or underground water that gathers naturally or due to man-made activities. When this water dissolves the foundation beneath the surface layer, spaces and caverns develop underground. Limestone, carbonate rock, and salt beds are particular vulnerable to this erosion.

Meanwhile, the top layer of Earth usually stays intact. When the dissolving area beneath the surface becomes too large, the surface suddenly gives way.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania are the states most affected by sinkholes. While they often occur from natural causes, sinkholes can be man-made and caused by human activity. Groundwater pumping and construction are the most likely culprits. They can also occur when water drainage systems are changed.

Source: USGS



