OCALA, Fla. — Skywitness 9 flew over an Ocala neighborhood Wednesday to get a look at more than a dozen sinkholes that have residents anxious.
It's been one week since the first hole opened. Engineers are still trying to determine their cause.
Residents who were evacuated from their homes don't yet know if they'll be able to return.
Resident Shannon Cole and his family are among those who were forced to leave their homes.
"We moved here two months ago. We had this beautiful lake in our backyard. And that's why we moved from this townhouse from another one in here," Cole said. "And then boom. We don't have any of it anymore."
Video from Skywitness 9 shows the numerous sinkholes along the shore of where the pond once sat.
"We had fish in there -- carp about that long -- but they all went down," resident Dan Haskell said. "They're gone."
Mud and birds feasting on dead fish are all that's left.
Residents said the sinkholes appear to be growing.
"One has gotten bigger," Haskell said. "The one that's just outside the pond right there over on the left. That one has gotten bigger."
Cole said his benefits from the American Red Cross have expired. He wishes he could return home.
"We need a place to stay," he said. "We would love to have our stuff, but we understand there's an active sinkhole going on still."
Other sinkholes have opened, including one in a road, which forced its closure.
"It makes you wonder how many more are going to open and how much bigger this really is," Cole said.
City officials said they're still waiting on an updated report about the situation. They said they layered sand bags at a nearby pond to stop water from flowing into the area.
Cox Media Group
