what was or in this case, wasn t beneath them. it works like this. a cavity slowly develops in the limestone bedrock. over thousands of year, it widens, then the clay and sand above collapse into the hole and everything is wall swallowed up. while these events are rare, sinkholes in florida are not, according to state insurance statistic, between 2006 and 2009, there were nearly 12,000 claims in the state s most sinkhole prone counties. many of the people here are retirees to florida. we came from colorado and i didn t know how to spell sinkhole. now, they re living with one. and coming up in the 3:00 eastern hour, we re going to give you a rare view from inside a sinkhole. david matingly dives for a peek,
swallowed up as he was asleep in bed. today it is an empty lot. the house is gone and there are no plans to rebuild. even if you don t live in florida you are not out of the sinkhole woods. the ground has opened up in north carolina and swallowed cars in illinois. sinkholes occur regularly in places like texas, new mexico, pennsylvania, ken tucky, tennessee. reporter: look at this scene in ohio from earlier this year. the driver was stuck in her car underground until the fire department finally rescued her. today that spot has been paved over as if nothing ever happened. but it is florida s natural geology, swiss cheese-like limestone bed rock that made the statd the most sinkhole prone in the nation. not far north. i came over and as i was
happened. but it is florida s natural geology, swiss cheese-like limestone bed rock that made the statd the most sinkhole prone in the nation. not far north. i came over and as i was walking out here i stepped right here and my foot went down in the hole. reporter: while it may seem there is a sudden rash of sinkholes particularly in florida, brinkmann says it has more to do with geaography than geology. for outfront, cnn miami. still to come, what happened on the afternoon that 13 soldiers were shot and murdered by one of their own? tonight a moment by moment account, the first from the
country. in july 60-year-old pamela knox plummeted into a sinkhole on a busy street. as the car was falling, i kept calling on the name of jesus. i just kept saying, jesus, jesus, jesus. reporter: some have not been so lucky. i couldn t get him out. i tried so hard. i tried everything i could. reporter: in february a sinkhole opened up underneath a suburban tampa home killing 36-year-old jeff bush who was sleeping in his bedroom. this is how sinkholes are formed. a cavity slowly develops in the limestone bedrock. over time it widens eventually breaking the surface, then the clay and sand above collapse into the hole swallowing everything in its path. repairs can be costly. i stepped right here and my foot went down in the hole. we thought we d live and die here.