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Sinkhole survivors remember disasters
By JENNIFER FARRELL
© St. Petersburg Times, SPRING HILL -- Five years ago, a massive sinkhole devoured Arnold and Beverly Larsen's front yard, taking with it their lawn, a palm tree and part of the street, leaving behind a jagged cavity 40 feet wide and 35 feet deep where their driveway had been. In August of last year, another gaping hole appeared in their back yard, nearly swallowing their pool and deck. So when the bottom started falling out of their neighborhood again late last week, Mrs. Larsen feared the worst. Panicked, she stayed up until 3 a.m., packing the couple's four-door Mercury Grand Marquis with bank books, paperwork, clothing and shoes. "Anything I could fit in the car I just stuffed in," she said Thursday. "I packed up. I mean, we're frightened." As a handful of residents faced evacuation last week after about 45 new sinkholes opened up in the area, many of their neighbors recalled past brushes with disaster. For the Larsens -- he, 86, and she, 73 -- the renewed threat is a terrifying reminder of their vulnerability. And the increasingly unlikely chance that they will ever feel safe. Or be able to leave. When the Larsens moved from Connecticut to Spring Hill in 1989, sinkholes were outside their zone of concern. After retiring -- he as a foreman for a heavy-equipment manufacturer, she from an electronics assembly plant -- they were ready to move South, soak up some sunshine and relax. By 1996, the corner lot they bought with a two-bedroom home, a pool and garage on Captain Road had become too much for Mr. Larsen to care for, so the couple decided to put it on the market. A week later, the first sinkhole stopped just short of their front door. After that, the county worked with the Larsens' insurance company, dumping nearly 100 truckloads of sand into the hole. Insurance also paid for about $30,000 in grouting to shore up the ground beneath the home, Mrs. Larsen said. But their troubles were not over. When another sinkhole opened last year, the Larsens began the entire process again. This time they were evacuated for a week, up from five days in 1996. And then there was more grouting, about $22,000 worth, according to Mrs. Larsen. But she said the repairs will never be enough to get back what they put into the home. "Nobody wants to buy it," Mrs. Larsen said. "Would you want to buy a property that's fallen in in the back and fallen in in the front? ... We're just stuck here like prisoners. We can't give it up to someone for $30,000 or $40,000." The neighborhood has been plagued with sinkholes since a retention pond was put in between Mariner Boulevard and Captain Road, Mrs. Larsen said. And it's only a matter of time, she fears, before the next cave-in. "We live on pins and needles all the time," she said. "If we have another hurricane or a storm, you can bet your boots this is going to fall in again." In 1998, Andy Peterson lost the back of his electronic sales and repair shop when a 150-foot-wide sinkhole, one of the largest ever recorded in Hernando County, opened on Linden Drive. He has since settled a lawsuit against Florida Water Services, after an investigation by the Southwest Florida Water Management District found the company's well pumping triggered the sinkhole. In April, Peterson moved H-Andy Service into a new building on Spring Hill Drive, but not before having his new property tested with ground-penetrating radar to get a clear picture of whether sinkholes were likely to appear. When he sold the first property last year, Peterson ended up taking a loss. He had just built an addition on the store when the property was reappraised, bringing its value to $182,000 shortly before the sinkhole. When he sold the property and what remained of the building last year, Peterson said he could only get $48,000 for it. In the meantime, he added, he had to keep paying the mortgage and taxes on the property and building he could no longer use. "The whole thing was a nightmare," Peterson said Thursday. "I would've been happy to sell it just to pay the remainder of the mortgage." In his new building, Peterson has a rider on his insurance that covers the building in case of sinkholes, but the company refused to write a policy for the property, he said. For anyone thinking of buying a home or a business in the area, he recommends a ground-penetrating radar study as a first step, then ample insurance coverage. "I have learned quite a lot about sinkholes," he said. "It's not the way I wanted to find out. I just wish I never had to deal with it." After nearly three years of depositions and hearings before settling the lawsuit in September, Peterson said he is glad to have the case behind him. "I like the area, and this is where I live, and this is where I'd like to promote my business," he said. "It'll take us some time to get back on our feet. How's that saying go, 'All wounds heal in time?' " For Mrs. Larsen, moving on has been more difficult. "If I hear a noise or it's storming, I think, 'Oh my God,' and I'm out with a flashlight," she said. "We live in fear all the time... . You know when you want to leave, but you can't leave? This is probably where we're going to die." - Staff writer Jennifer Farrell covers Spring Hill and can be reached at 848-1432. Discuss this and other issues in our Web-based forum at http://www.sptimes.com/hernandoforum.
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