SEFFNER — A possible sinkhole forced two families out of their home Tuesday evening, authorities said.
A 911 call from the residents of 5315 Peach Ave. came about 5 p.m., according to Hillsborough County Fire Rescue. The floor of the duplex buckled and the walls cracked, according to agency spokesman Ronnie Rivera, but a visible sinkhole did not open.
Fire Rescue probed the ground around the home and found soft soil, Rivera said, before recommending the families stay elsewhere Tuesday night. The American Red Cross was called to assist the families, and a soil sampling crew will come today to test the ground under the home.
Tuesday's incident came less than a month after a sinkhole opened under 240 Faithway Drive, about 3 miles away, killing Jeffrey Bush, 37, and forcing the evacuation of two adjacent homes. Bush's home was demolished and the other homes are still vacant, according to Hillsborough County spokesman Willie Puz.
Saturday, two homes on Lake Shore Ranch Drive, about 2 miles away from Bush's home, were temporarily evacuated because a sinkhole opened in the yard between them. The families returned that night, Puz said.
Will Hobson can be reached at (813) 226-3400 or whobson@tampabay.com.