{"id":274295,"date":"2026-05-17T16:44:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T16:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/274295\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T16:44:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T16:44:20","slug":"florida-community-on-edge-as-large-sinkhole-forms-near-from-neighborhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/274295\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida community on edge as large sinkhole forms near from neighborhood"},"content":{"rendered":"

MAITLAND, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 People living along a road in Florida woke up to unsettling news Friday: a growing sinkhole forming just steps from their neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe turned on the TV, and it said a sinkhole at Hope Road. My husband was like, ‘That\u2019s right here,’\u201d Maitland Club resident Susan Jaffee told WESH<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jaffee lives in the Maitland Club neighborhood, adjacent to the growing sinkhole. She told reporters that the sinkhole is so close to her home that it’s difficult not to worry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really just on the other side,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For Jaffee, the situation brings back memories of other sinkholes in Central Florida history, including the one that formed Lake Rose in Winter Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, it swallowed houses and cars, and so it\u2019s kind of scary,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I mean, I\u2019m sure it will be fine. They haven\u2019t told us to leave or anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

See also: Convicted murderer back behind bars for deadly West Palm Beach shooting<\/a><\/p>\n

Early reports indicated the sinkhole measured about 20 feet in diameter, but by Friday evening, Orange County officials said it had continued to grow.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s doubled in size. It\u2019s grown since I was last out here at 1:30,\u201d Darrell Moody with Orange County Public Works told WESH. \u201cNobody knows how much bigger it\u2019s going to get. It does have some room before it encroaches on that wall of the neighborhood and before it encroaches on the berm there along that FDOT retention pond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moody said crews are monitoring the situation closely but cannot begin repairs until the ground stabilizes.<\/p>\n

Officials used ground-penetrating radar Friday to determine whether a larger void exists beneath the roadway. That data, they say, will help guide the next steps in the repair process.<\/p>\n

If the sinkhole stops expanding over the weekend, crews may begin testing stabilization methods.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it holds water, then it\u2019s stable; we can begin repairs at that point,\u201d Moody said.<\/p>\n

Until then, officials say the situation remains unpredictable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really just don\u2019t know,\u201d Moody said when asked about the risk to nearby homes. \u201cDo we think it\u2019s going to open up huge? No. But you never know. So it is growing and it is not stable.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, the road closure has forced drivers to detour onto Hope Road and Oranole Road to reach Maitland Avenue.<\/p>\n

But for residents like Jaffee, the inconvenience is secondary to the uncertainty of what\u2019s happening underground.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really want to know that it has stopped growing,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s my biggest concern.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MAITLAND, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 People living along a road in Florida woke up to unsettling news Friday: a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":274296,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-274295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}