DEBARY, Fla. -- Fay's floods shut down a busy Central Florida road, creating headaches for students on their way to school, and three large sinkholes opened up just feet from homes in Volusia County.

GIANT SINKHOLE OPENS IN VOLUSIA COUNTY

The giant sinkhole in DeBary is now 50 feet wide and it finally stopped growing. Now, 20 families who were asked to evacuate are being told their homes near the DeBary Golf and Country Club (see map) are safe again.

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SLIDESHOW: Images Of Massive Sinkhole
SINKHOLE STABILIZES: DeBary Sinkhole Has Stopped Growing
RELIEF: County By County Information
FINAL RAINFALL TOTALS: Totals For Some Areas Of Central Florida
FLOOD AREAS: Local Flood Zones | St. Johns River Maps

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Engineers on Wednesday were digging down 60 to 70 feet into the ground, still testing the soil. They want to make sure, if the hole expands, it expands west away from homes.

It was a massive, potentially dangerous collapse and it wasn't just one side of the retention pond wall that went down. A hole also opened up on the other side and then a hole opened up across the street. There were concerns it could move toward homes.

"We were here late last night. You couldn't see all of it and there's some sections that are gone that were there yesterday," said resident Pat McGinn.

Engineers started taking soil samples around the hole, trying to determine how big it could be. By midday, constructions crews had the go-ahead to start filling in some of the damage.

Crews were tearing up roadway and peeling up the pavement that had cracked and collapsed. It's a priority to keep the road open, since the only other road into the subdivision is still under water.

There was some speculation it was a washout and not a sinkhole, but both engineers on site and the county are calling it a sinkhole. They'll keep an eye on it, but for now it seems to have stopped growing.

Florida has more sinkholes than any other state in the nation and most of the sinkholes in Florida are right along the I-4 corridor. Most were near Tampa, but there were also quite a few near Deltona and DeLand. Sinkholes are formed by groundwater dissolving limestone and most of Central Florida is on a limestone bed.

FEMA APPROVES MONEY FOR VOLUSIA FAY VICTIMS

The flooding from Tropical Storm Fay was not much better Wednesday for residents of Volusia County. Enterprise Road was covered with water on one side and part of the other. Crews set up orange barrels to direct traffic through it.

But there is some good news for storm victims in Volusia County. FEMA has approved money to help homeowners pay for the damage from Fay. The individual assistance will help cover the cost of temporary housing and some other expenses. Brevard County was also approved for federal assistance.

SR-46 REMAINS CLOSED, CREATES TRAFFIC ISSUES

Fay's floods are causing a traffic nightmare between Seminole and Brevard counties. The St. Johns River is flowing over the top of State Road 46. That's the route to the beach for people north of Orlando and the nearest alternate route, State Road 50, takes about twice as long.

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VIDEO REPORT: SR-46 To Remain Closed For Days Due To Flooding

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The break down in communication happened Wednesday morning on the Volusia County side of flooded State Road 46 on the St. Johns River. Troopers didn't allow Joy Boutwell and other parents to take their kids to the bus stop.

"The buses told us they would be at CS Lee Park to pick our children up. When we left this morning the state troopers on the Volusia County side would not let us go through," she said.

The troopers were supposed to allow parents to pass through the barricades. By the time school was out Wednesday afternoon, troopers told Eyewitness News the kinks were worked out.

"We want them to have one less thing to worry about and we defiantly don't want to be creating more problems for them, so if there was an issue this morning and we didn't do what we needed to do," Trooper Kim Miller said.

The traffic troubles caused some kids to be an hour late to school. For others, the bus didn't come at all.

"There was no bus. The bus didn't come. They can't get to you when the roads are underwater. The buses aren't coming to the rural areas. You gotta take your kid to school," said parent Steven Wright.

The problem is flowing water across State Road 46. It's expected to continue to rise as the St. Johns River isn't expected to crest until this weekend. So if you usually use the SR-46 route, use the alternate route until Monday.

The closures are as follows:
» As you travel westbound from Brevard County, the road will be closed at Hatbill Road (see map).

» As you travel eastbound from Seminole County, the road will be closed at Jungle Road (see map).

Signs were posted on I-95 advising motorists to use other roads, including SR-50 in Titusville or SR-44 in Volusia.

RISING LAKE WATER COULD FLOOD MORE HOMES

Rising water on Lake Poinsett (see map) is threatening to more flood homes in Brevard County.

Mike Miller spent Wednesday morning shoveling dirt from the roadway to the back door of his garage. Water flowing from the St. Johns River is causing water levels at Lake Poinsett to rise about two inches a day.

"If it keeps coming up, I think I'm in trouble. This road was flooded before. Whenever you see the road flooding, it's time to start thinking about evacuating," Miller said.

Jerry Petty, like every neighbor in the Brevard County community, he too is worried about potential flooding.

"If they feel they got to close the canal cause too much fresh water going to the Indian River, we're gonna be in trouble over here. Lake Washington first and then us," he said.

Oliver Hilton is a little more optimistic. He doesn’t believe the water will reach his home. In the 18 years he’s lived there it's flooded once after hurricane season 2004, when hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne stormed through.

"I think it's going to go down, I believe, in the next couple of days, and this river drops fast when it drops. It gets out in a hurry," he said.