Thursday night was a bad night for the Bush family in their home just outside of Tampa, Florida. Jeff Bush, a landscaper, was sleeping in his bedroom when a sinkhole opened up underneath the floor of the one-story home, presumably swallowing the man and all of his belongings. Jeff’s brother, Jeremy, quickly ran in to the room, attempting to find his brother in the muck of the hole, before having to be saved himself.
It sounds like the stuff out of nightmares, a hole breaking through floorboards and fixtures and pulling down a man to a gruesome death. According to the Chicago Tribune, sinkholes are actually fairly common in Florida, thanks to rainwater filtering down through the porous bedrock. The rain water eventually causes caverns underground which will lead to sinkholes, although a sinkhole popping up in a bedroom is more uncommon.
What’s almost worse is the fact that the family heard a loud crash before hearing Jeff scream, after which the man disappeared completely, leaving nothing but a gaping 20-foot-wide hole and nothing the family could do. The sinkhole is currently still so dangerous, the family hasn’t been able to head back in to the home to grab some of their possessions. Even if it was safe, I’m not certain I would want to head back inside after what happened.
After calling off the search for Bush only yesterday, the local government has already taken action, beginning to tear down the home on Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST. Additionally, two nearby households had to be evacuated. They were allowed to take some belongings with them, but authorities don’t expect the families to be able to return.
