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Why So Many Sinkholes In Florida?

Reuters

Demolition continues today on a home in Seffner, near Tampa, where a man was killed when sinkhole opened up under his bedroom. The sad and frightening story of a man swallowed up by the Earth as he slept has most Floridians paying more attention to sinkholes, but they're actually a fairly common occurrence in the state.

The Atlantic has a great article explaining why Florida is so susceptible to sinkholes.

Florida%27s%20peninsula%20is%20unstable%20terrain%20by%20dint%20of%20its%20particular%20geology%3A%20a%20bed%20of%20limestone%20is%20slowly%20wasting%20away%20beneath%20the%20soil%2C%20taking%20trees%2C%20houses%2C%20and%20lives%20with%20it%2C%20collapse%20by%20collapse.

The truth is, as common as sinkholes are, they are rarely deadly.  The Florida Department of Environmental Protection also provides details and answers to Frequently Asked Questions about sinkholes.

Karen found her home in public broadcasting after working for several years as a commercial television reporter. She joinedWJCTin 2005 as the host of 89.9 FM’s Morning Edition and has held many different roles at the station in both radio and television. She has written and produced documentaries includingBeluthahatchee: The Legacy of Stetson Kennedy and Jacksonville Beach: Against the Tide and directed the oral history project, Voices of the First Coast.