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U.S. NEWS Saturday 15 July 2017
2 homes, 1 boat swallowed by growing sinkhole in Florida

By JENNIFER KAY age a third home, Guth-
FREIDA FRISARO rie said. Pasco County
Associated Press Fire Chief Shawn Whited
MIAMI (AP) — A sinkhole told reporters that no one
that started out the size was home when crews re-
of a small swimming pool sponded to a call about a
and continued to grow in “depression” under a boat
Florida swallowed a boat, in the backyard of a house
destroyed two homes and in Lake Padgett Estates in
prompted officials to evac- Land O’Lakes. Within min-
uate residents from about utes, he said, “the hole
a dozen homes Friday. opened up” and the boat
Dramatic video showed fell in. Firefighters were able
the home in Land O’ Lakes, to get two dogs out of the
north of Tampa in Pasco home and retrieve some
County, collapsing into belongings before the first
the hole Friday morning. It home started collapsing
quickly engulfed one home into the quickly expanding
and a boat and then con- hole. No injuries have been
sumed about 80 percent of reported. Sheriff Chris Noc-
another home, said Kevin co said that within roughly
Guthrie, Pasco County’s 30 feet of the sinkhole, the
assistant county adminis- ground was soft underfoot Debris is strewn about from a partially collapsed home in Land O’ Lakes, Fla. on Friday, July 14,
trator for public safety. and felt like it was moving. 2017.A sinkhole that started out the size of a small swimming pool and continued to grow has swal-
By Friday afternoon, the “Walking down the street, lowed a home in Florida and severely damaged another.
hole stretched up to 250 you can see in people’s (Alessandra da Pra/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
feet (76 meters) wide and eyes the anxiety level.
50 feet (15 meters) deep, They’re fearful,” Nocco
and threatened to dam- said. q

Amtrak calls 1st week of repairs

‘very good,’ gives praise to riders

NEW YORK (AP) — So far, so the passenger level, we
good. couldn’t have asked for
Amtrak’s chief operations any more.”
officer called the first week Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a
of summer-long track work Democrat, had predicted
and corresponding sched- a “summer of hell” for com-
ule cutbacks for commut- muters after plans for the
ers at Penn Station a suc- repairs were announced
cess. this spring. But on Tuesday
Friday marked the fifth day he praised the advance
of major repairs that are planning and said “the re-
closing tracks and forc- ports are all good.”
ing commuter rail lines to Crews are replacing aging
reduce schedules at the equipment such as signals
nation’s busiest train sta- and several thousand feet
tion, a critical part of the of track over a two-month
Northeast Corridor system. period. Amtrak, which
The work is to go through owns and operates the
the end of August, Amtrak station, had been perform-
COO Scot Naparstek said. ing the work on nights and
“It’s been a very good weekends and planned to
week,” Naparstek said dur- complete it in a few years,
ing a conference call with but two derailments and
reporters. “People have other problems this spring
responded very, very well. persuaded it to step up the
At the station level and pace.q