Wonder

The Story of a Sinkhole

Emily Damm
3/16/2015
6 grade English period 7
th

Mrs. Peirces husband falls into a sinkhole, she thinks there is more.

A loud crash, then nothing: Sinkhole

swallows Florida man
By Michael Pearson and John Zarrella CNN
Updated 6:03 AM ET, Tue March 5, 2013

Sinkhole house torn down; man entombed 02:10

The ground just swallowed him up.
A Florida man fell into a sinkhole that opened suddenly Thursday night beneath the
bedroom of his suburban Tampa home, calling out to his brother for help as he fell, the
brother said Friday.
"I ran toward my brother's bedroom because I heard my brother scream," Jeremy Bush
told CNN's "AC360."
"Everything was gone. My brother's bed, my brother's dresser, my brother's TV. My
brother was gone."
Bush frantically tried to rescue his brother, Jeff Bush, by standing in the hole and
digging at the rubble with a shovel until police arrived and pulled him out, saying the
floor was still collapsing.
"I couldn't get him out. I tried so hard. I tried everything I could," he said through tears. "I
could swear I heard him calling out."

Go inside a sinkhole 03:20

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Family mourns man who fell in sinkhole 01:45

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Florida man swallowed by giant sinkhole 01:06

PLAY VIDEO

What causes sinkholes? 01:39

PLAY VIDEO
Jeremy Bush and four other people, including a 2-year-old child, escaped from the blue,
one-story 1970s-era home in Seffner, a Tampa suburb.
Sinkholes: Common, costly and sometimes deadly
What began with hopes of rescue turned into a body recovery operation after monitoring
equipment failed to detect any signs that Jeff Bush survived the fall into the hole,
according the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
Rescuers still hadn't gone into the hole -- it's too dangerous, Fire Chief Ron Rogers told
reporters. Authorities say they worry the hole is still spreading and the house could
collapse at any time.
"Until we know where it's safe to bring the equipment, we really are just handicapped
and paralyzed, and can't really do a whole lot more than sit and wait. It's a tough
situation. It's even tougher for the family," Rogers said.
The sinkhole is about 20 feet to 30 feet across and may be 30 feet deep, said Bill
Bracken, president of an engineering company assisting emergency workers. The hole
was originally reported to be 100 feet across, but that is the diameter of the safety zone
surrounding it, Bracken said.

"It started in the bedroom, and it has been expanding outward and it's taking the house
with it as it opens up," he said.
As the sinkhole continued to deepen, nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution.
Check out images of the sinkhole house
On Friday, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office released a 911 call from the night
before.
"The house just fell through," a female voice says on the recording. She asks for an
ambulance and the police.
"The bedroom floor just collapsed, and my brother-in-law is in there. He's underneath
the house," she says.
Jessica Damico, Hillsborough County Fire Department spokeswoman, said about 40
police and firefighters were standing by at the scene Friday morning. Meanwhile,
engineers hoped to use more sophisticated equipment to get a three-dimensional image
of the sinkhole.
Family members were also on hand, waiting out what they feared would be a
devastating day.
"I'm praying that there's an air pocket in there ... but I can't see nobody surviving that
long in a hole like that. There was too much dirt, too much stuff," Jeremy Bush said. "He
was my brother, man, I loved him."
Sinkholes are common in Florida, according to the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection. The state lies on bedrock made of limestone or other carbonate rock that
can be eaten away by acidic groundwater, forming voids that collapse when the rock
can no longer support the weight of what's above it.
Hillsborough County is part of an area known as "sinkhole alley" that accounts for twothirds of the sinkhole-related insurance claims in the state, according to a Florida state
Senate Insurance and Banking Committee report.
But Mike Merrill, county administrator for Hillsborough County, stressed Friday that the
sinkhole in question was not "your typical sinkhole."
"They still have not been able to find the boundaries of the underground chasm. For that
reason, we're being very deliberate, he said. "We're very frustrated. But we're pursuing
it as quickly as we can, as safely as we can."

Ocala Florida=

The story begins with Sydney, a girl with interests, and wonder.
I am so excited to visit grandma at her nursing home. She tells the best stories, about war and
fashion in the 60s. She is so much fun to be around, but today I want to hear a different kind of
story.
Sydney thought to herself.
One with questioning, and love. Maybe one about grandpa. Maybe the story of how he died.
Even though he died before I was born, I feel like he is still here with me, and I think it is
important to know how he died. Well, lets see if she will tell me about it.

Hello grandma.
Hello darling, Ive missed you.
Ive missed you too; I cant wait to hear a new story. Can you tell it now, I have a
recommendation.
You do, what is it?
I want to hear the one about grandpa.
The room fell silent for a moment then she responded.
Well, ok. It is a sad story, but it is a good one to hear.

Her grandma began.

It was 3:00 in the morning in Ocala, and he was getting a drink of water from the kitchen. I was
in bed sleeping, when I heard, rumbling, a big crash, and yelling.
I woke in a hurry and went straight for the kitchen. I remember seeing a gigantic hole the size of
king sized bed, and him. He looked unconscious, and was buried in the ruble. The hole was
around 7 feet deep, and I could not reach him.
Therefore, I called the fire department, and tried digging. Once the fire department got there,
they ordered me to get out of the house. They claimed it was not safe.

She paused for a moment then went on.

All I remember were tears pouring out of my eyes, when I saw him on a stretcher coming out.
They took him to the hospital, in an ambulance and I went with them. When we got to the
hospital, he woke up for just a few minutes, and said something to me.
He said Melissa, before I go will you do something for me?
I responded and said, yes, anything what is it?
He said, will you?

I could not hear the rest, because his heart rate started beeping uncontrollably. The doctors
asked me to leave in a rush, and when I got the news that he was dead, I could not bear it. It took
me a couple of months to recover, and I am still broken hearted today. Months after the incident I
found out that it was sinkhole, caused by the Earths plates in the ground.
Wow, said Sydney, that must have been so hard.

It was, said Grandma Peirce. I still feel like there will be more, everyday.
What do you think grandpa was saying when he asked if you could do something for him?
I dont know, I ask myself that every day.
Well, grandma, I think we are leaving.
Ok. I will see you Thursday.
Love you.
Love you too.
Oh, and grandma?
Sydney sat on the couch quietly waiting for a response.
Yes.
If you ever figure out what grandpa said will you let me know?
Of course, Will you promise me to do the same?
Yes.
Bye.
Good bye.
When we left, I wondered to myself a lot. I thought to myself. I wonder if Grandpa was going to
tell Grandma to never forget him, or something like that. Maybe it was something bigger and
more mysterious than that. Maybe I will just have to live with not knowing, that will be hard.