Why Does Central Florida Have so Many Sinkholes?

A sinkhole forms when groundwater dissolves the underlying limestone bedrock. This creates a void in the land. When there is a drought, and you get a heavy rainfall in a short period of time, the support can give and suddenly collapsing the land surface; thus becoming a sinkhole. Florida is very vulnerable to sinkholes. However, most sinkholes are found throughout the northern and central counties of Florida. There are other states like that have sinkholes, however Florida is the most vulnerable to sinkholes. You will see more sinkholes happen when the groundwater table is at it's low during a drought or the dry season period which is May.

Living in Florida, when people see a depression in the streets or land, they believe this is a sinkhole forming. Most times it is the result of water main, storm pipes that have been separated or broken irrigations systems.

The three types of sinkholes are the collapse sinkholes which are the most common in Florida, solution sinkholes, and subsidence sinkholes.

Most of the large sinkholes in Florida have turned into lakes.

What happens if a sinkhole develops on your property?

If you find a sinkhole developing on your property, you should first call your insurance company for directions. You cannot assume you are automatically covered by your insurance company for a sinkhole. Prior to June of this year, Florida Statute 627.706 required that insurance companies offer sinkhole insurance. However, due to the recent changes in Florida's insurance law, there will no longer be a requirement to cover sinkhole damage, except in the most catastrophic collapses. Some insurance companies may not insure the land however the house and household goods might be covered. However, if you are living on a sinkhole fault line, it never hurts to verify what is and is not covered if there is a sinkhole on your property. The insurance company can give you directions from there.

You should then call your local government to notify them of the sinkhole.

Am I Responsible for Securing the Sinkhole?