HUDSON, Fla. (WFLA) – Emergency officials say they are now monitoring 36 depressions that have opened up in Hudson.

Earlier this week, authorities were tracking just 20 depressions. That means 16 new ones have been discovered since then.

The newest number of depressions was revealed Thursday afternoon in a news conference with Pasco County Emergency Management Director Andrew Fossa. He says a geological firm hired by the HOA in Lakeside Woodlands Community was out at the scene on Wednesday. While the firm was in the neighborhood, Fossa says he asked to have the roadway surveyed on Willow Brook Court.

“A preliminary report says that there is a large void under the roadway. He says it’s approximately 17 feet wide. We don’t have a depth yet or a length. Out of an abundance of safety, we have decided to close the roadway down,” Fossa said.

He says the depressions in the area are also growing.

Depressions, sinkholes, and how to find out if you live near one

“We’re up to 36 of them now. We cannot put anybody in the area to do the actual GPR. The company doing this is rigging up a tether system for them to have the ability to pull the GPR back and forth and keep everyone out of harm’s way,” he explained. “When that is completed, the HOA will get a report of what is actually going on in the site. We can’t tell, we don’t know.”

Fossa explained in his news conference that while Pasco County owns the roadway, the HOA actually owns the ground and dirt underneath it.

“Because we’re going to have to make the repair, we’re going to go ahead and fill that void in and hopefully mitigate it,” Fossa said.

At this point, emergency officials say they do not have a time span or a duration of how long the process will take. They say that will be dependent on the report the HOA receives.

“This area, at one time, was a flowing river,” Fossa said. “They built on top of a flowing river and connected the land together to build the houses. I have a saying that, ‘If you take from Mother Nature, Mother Nature is gonna take it back eventually.'”

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