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LIVE BLOG: Updates on Hurricane Milton

Florida Matters: The Sinkhole State

Imagine leaving for work in the morning and finding out a few hours later that your home and every possession within it has been swallowed by the earth. Sinkholes in Florida make that a real possibility.

This week on Florida Matters we’re talking about sinkholes and what homeowners can do to protect themselves and their property.

Our guests include:

Credit Pasco County

Kevin Guthrie, Pasco County’s Assistant County Administrator for Public Safety. Guthrie has been overseeing efforts to mediate the sinkhole that swallowed two homes in Land O’Lakes on July 14 and eventually destroyed five others.

Credit Photo provided by Dr. Lori Collins

Dr. Lori Collins, Co-Director of the University of South Florida Libraries Digital Heritage and Humanities Collections. Collins is involved in a special partnership between a team of USF scientists and Pasco County to study the Pasco sinkhole and create 3-D models of it to learn from in the future.

Credit Photo provided by Dr. Chuck Nyce

Dr. Chuck Nyce, Assistant Professor with the William T. Hold/The National Alliance Program of Risk Management and Insurance at Florida State University. Nyce is involved in a research project that studies sinkhole insurance claims to determine what kind of impact they have on property values.

Special thanks to all our listeners who participated in the discussion both on and off the air.

You can keep the conversation going on our Facebook page, on Twitter or by emailing FloridaMatters@wusf.org.  

Check out the links below to see some 3D models of the Pasco sinkhole created by Dr. Lori Collins and the other members of the USF Libraries research team.

Florida Sinkhole Disaster by University of South Florida Libraries on Sketchfab

Saxon Lake Sinkhole 3D Laser Scanning Model by University of South Florida Libraries on Sketchfab

I cover health care for WUSF and the statewide journalism collaborative Health News Florida. I’m passionate about highlighting community efforts to improve the quality of care in our state and make it more accessible to all Floridians. I’m also committed to holding those in power accountable when they fail to prioritize the health needs of the people they serve.
Robin Sussingham was Senior Editor at WUSF until September 2020.
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