If you live in Florida, you have probably heard of sinkholes.

It’s when the ground caves in, often bringing down everything on top of it. Roads, businesses and homes have all been impacted.

Dr. Manoj Chopra has researched sinkholes and erosion at the University of Central Florida and said much of Central Florida is part of “Sinkhole Alley.”

“It goes all the way from Hillsborough County, and close to Tampa, all the way up to Daytona, and it goes through our areas of Maitland and Winter Park,” Chopra told Florida’s Fourth Estate hosts Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden.

Lake Eola actually started as a sinkhole.

Chopra said part of the lake collapsed through the aquifer and filled with water. He said much of the lake is shallow, but the part that collapsed is very deep.

He pointed out that Lake Rose in Winter Park also started as a sinkhole. It caused a car dealership to collapse and some of the cars were never recovered.

Chopra said there is an easy way to see if a lake started as a sinkhole.

“If you fly over Central Florida, if you see those really round lakes, they’re probably sinkholes, because a sinkhole is typically a funnel that fails the surface and falls in,” Chopra said.

While they are pretty from the sky, they can be concerning and dangerous in residential areas.

The engineering professor said if you have a home in the impacted area, you should check out the Florida Geological Survey map of Sinkholes and learn the history of the area.

Chopra said there are two types of sinkholes: ones that form under sand usually produce depressions before the limestone underneath gives way, but when the ground has a layer of clay under it, like the one in Seffner that suddenly collapsed and killed a man in his sleep, there are little to no warning signs.

Chopra said that’s because the clay acts as a barrier, everything falls apart below, then once everything is gone, the clay barrier falls and everything on top comes tumbling down too.

If you want to make sure the land you are living on is safe Chopra said you can talk to Central Florida experts or get a geotechnical firm to come out and bore into the ground.

To learn more about sinkholes and how they are formed check out Florida’s Fourth Estate.

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