NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Pasco County officials marked two homes along Dorian Court in the River Ridge Subdivision unsafe for entry after a depression at least 40 feet across and 20 feet deep opened between them sometime Tuesday.
- Depression opens between homes in River Ridge neighborhood
- Pasco County Fire Rescue, Emergency Management, Building Inspections and a Deputy Building Official at the scene
- No other homes in danger right now
“Basically, we just want to protect the citizens. That’s our main concern and job,” said Anthony Mastracchio, deputy building official with the county.
While Assistant County Administrator for Public Safety Kevin Guthrie said the county would continue to monitor the situation, its emergency response ended Wednesday morning.
“This is not a county problem. This is all, 100 percent on private property. It is underneath the foundation of the homes. This is a private matter. This is a homeowners association, it is a private homeowner, it is insurance,” Guthrie said.
Situations like this are familiar to Jonathan McDonald, president of Sinkhole Titan, a repair business in Brooksville.
“First off, they need to call their insurance company and see what their insurance covers, if they actually have sinkhole coverage,” McDonald said about what homeowners should do if they find a depression on their property. “A lot of homeowners a few years ago got rid of their sinkhole coverage because it got so expensive.”
McDonald said those without sinkhole coverage should ask if their plan covers catastrophic incidents.
Effect on selling a home?
In his work as a realtor, McDonald said he hasn’t found sinkholes to ruin a property’s chances of being sold.
“There are a lot of my buyers that won’t touch a sinkhole home,” he said. “If there was a sinkhole within a mile radius of it, they won’t even buy there. But I want to say that’s ten percent - ten percent of all the buyers I get.”
As for whether a depression can impact neighboring homes, McDonald said only an engineer can determine that. There are signs homeowners can look for that could signal trouble.
“Check for staircase cracking, vertical cracking, shifting, popping,” McDonald said. “There’s still signs, especially depressions in your yard. Your yard and your home will tell you a lot.”