LAKELAND, Fla. — Crews appear to have filled a sinkhole in Lakeland that opened on Friday.
It happened near Scott Lake Road and Fitzgerald Road right next to another sinkhole that opened back in June. The recent sinkhole was estimated to be 55 feet wide and 12 feet deep, according to officials.
However, with areas in Florida, particularly Tampa Bay, being prone to sinkholes, some people said they're worried about how soon the next sinkhole may reopen.
"This is scary," Maria Barco of Lakeland said. "This is too close to home."
The most recent sinkhole in June was about 75 feet wide.
On Friday, authorities told 10 Tampa Bay that a private engineer has been brought in by the landowner to take a look at the 12-foot-deep hole. Parts of Scott Lake Road between Case Lane and Fitzgerald Road were blocked off on Friday.
When the previous sinkhole opened up, authorities also had to block off Scott Lake Road at Fitzgerald Road as workers tried to stop the expansion with sand.
Since much of Florida is largely underlain by limestone bedrock, according to the Department of Environmental Protection, sinkholes are more common than in other places. Hernando, Hillsborough and Pasco counties are considered "sinkhole alley" but Polk County is also considered a hot spot by some experts.
"Many of the lakes in Polk County, they are sinkhole lakes. They are older sinkholes that are filled with water and they have the potential to unplug and drain. Fortunately, not very frequently," Tony Randazzo, professor emeritus of Geological Sciences at the University of Florida, said in a June interview.
A 2006 sinkhole event caused the lake to lose much of its water when a sinkhole opened up on its southern shore. This past July, the same sinkhole that killed a man in 2013 reopened in Seffner.
The Tampa Bay area tops the list in the majority of claims for sinkholes, said Mark Friedlander with the Insurance Information Institute in an interview in July.
Friedlander said the numbers differ per person, but on average, a single sinkhole coverage policy could cost about $5,000. However, claims run well more than $100,000.
"Is it worth, say, $5,000 added to your policy? That's what each homeowner has to decide if they want to take the chance, just like any other insurance," Friedlander said.