Florida Sinkhole Close To Swallowing Legoland, Continues To Double In Size

A Florida sinkhole that has opened close to Legoland has continued to grow in size, almost doubling since it was first noticed earlier in the week.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, if the 2015 Corvette is a dream, then a nightmare would be when a sinkhole opens up under the Corvette museum and swallows a long list of classic Corvettes, including a ZR1 Blue Devil Corvette. Fortunately, they were able to recover these marvels of the auto world, and the whole thing was caught on video.

According to authorities, the Florida sinkhole began as a small depression behind a woman’s car only to engulf a good chunk of a parking lot. Starting on Thursday morning the hole was 30 feet wide and five feet deep. By the time the evening came to pass the crater had grown to 70 feet wide by 15 feet deep… and it is still growing!

Clare Barroso, the owner of the vehicle, vividly remembers avoiding having her car get sucked into the newly formed sinkhole:

“I ran out and right behind my back tire was where the hole started. Now there’s no parking spot there.”

The hole opened up in the parking lot at 6031 Cypress Gardens Boulevard, which just happens to be across the street from Legoland. According to property manager Brian Swain, the bad news is that multiple businesses in the area have been evacuated while geologists use ground penetrating radar to evaluate how large the Florida sinkhole might become in the end:

“Those businesses are located directly in front of the sinkhole which is about 35 to 40 feet from the sidewalk right now.”

The good news is that no injuries have been reported and the sinkhole has largely confined itself to the parking lot, with none of the nearby buildings reporting any structural damage. The property owners are hoping the ground may start to level out so they can begin repairs. Meanwhile, security personnel have had to keep the curious from straying into the area since it has begun to draw large crowds.

But why is the Sunshine State becoming so well known for its large sinkholes? Florida sinkholes are said to be occurring more often due to increased land development. Florida didn’t really become developed until the invention of air conditioning, so civilization is fairly recent phenomenon in Florida. Scientists believe there is a danger when anything is built on a foundation of limestone. Florida’s underground rivers slowly eat away at the bedrock within caverns, causing the sudden sinkholes above ground.