00:54 Sinkholes in Central Florida Prompt Evacuations A scary sight in Central Florida, after several likely sinkholes open up in an Ocala neighborhood, forcing nearby residents to evacuate.

At a Glance Numerous sinkholes opened up Wednesday and Thursday in an Ocala, Florida, community.

The sinkholes forced authorities to evacuate several homes while they investigated the cause.

Firefighters believe a broken water main was responsible for the sinkholes.

Some of the sinkholes are up to 25 feet wide, say officials.

Several sinkholes opened up in the central Florida town of Ocala Wednesday and Thursday, and some residents had to be evacuated.

Shortly after authorities were notified of the growing holes, eight townhomes were evacuated at the Fore Ranch community Wednesday afternoon , according to WOFL-TV. Officials were testing the ground and said they wouldn't lift evacuations until it was determined that residents were safe to return, the report added.

"I don't really know how to explain what it did in the water, but it looked like explosions across the water. There was at least four to five of them that happened ," resident Shannon Cole told ClickOrlando.com, describing what he heard while the sinkholes formed. "It sounded like a bomb going off. It was very loud."

(MORE: New Rainfall Record Set in Hawaii? )

Officials told WFTV.com that nobody was injured as the gaps grew in the ground. Firefighters believe the sinkholes were formed when a private irrigation water main broke, the report also said.

WCJB.com reports that some of the sinkholes were 15 to 25 feet wide , according to officials, although the depth is unknown.

Residents who hadn't been ordered to evacuate said they were still worried about the growing holes, with some saying they heard bizarre noises inside their own homes as the incident played out.

"Kind of like a popping noise that we heard before," resident Richard Morang told ClickOrlando.com. "In the downstairs bathroom, there’s cracks. We heard noises before, but they told us everything was OK, so I went back inside, and now, we see cracks in the bathroom."

Ocala is located in Florida's "Sinkhole Alley," where sinkholes are common. Vulnerable areas include a swath from Ocala to the Tampa area, among other parts of central Florida.