Sinkhole at Disney World Causes World-Area Resort to Collapse; Guests Evacuated, No Injuries

A sinkhole at Disney World caused part of the resort area to collapse. All of the guests affected by the sinkhole at Disney World were evacuated. No one was reported injured.

A sinkhole opened up overnight at The Disney World resort, damaging three building. The sinkhole at Disney World was massive, it measured 40 to 50 feet in diameter. The sinkhole damaged structures at Disney World’s Summer Bay Resort in Clermont, Fla.

The Disney World sinkhole forced dozens of people to evacuate the resort after a section of the building collapsed Sunday night.

Guests reported windows shattering and cracking sounds at around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Summer Bay Resort in Clermont, Fla. Authorities said aabout 35 people were evacuated before one of the buildings began to collapse. One villa and an adjacent building were affected. All the guests were evacuated before the collapse. No one has been reported injured.

At a news conference, the resort’s president, Paul Caldwell said, "No doubt there would've been injuries if they hadn't gotten the building evacuated."

About a third of one of the villas collapsed at 3 a.m. on Monday morning. Another portion of the three-story resort was reported by the Associated Press to be sinking.

One of the guests at the resort, Luis Perez, told WFTV that he went to report a power outage at about 11:30 p.m. and he saw firefighters and police at the site of the sinkhole in Disney World.

Perez told the station, "I started walking toward where they were at and you could see the building leaning and you could see a big crack at the base of the building."

Another witness, Maggie Ghamry, said a couple and their child were forced to escape through a window after the door frame in their room collapsed.

Maggie Ghamry told WFTV, "There were windows breaking everywhere. One woman was sitting in the tub and the tub levitated and that's when she just grabbed a pair of shorts and came out with nothing.So, it was the most surreal experience I never could have imagined in my wildest dreams."

The guests were all evacuated but about 20 people had to leave behind items like medication, car keys and personal belongings. They were relocated to other buildings on the property.

Paul Caldwell told reporters, “Our goal is to have everyone have a great vacation for the rest of the week. We're going to do everything in our power to see that that happens."

Sinkholes have been cracking throughout the state of Florida for over a year, especially in the Tampa Bay area. The most recent report of a sinkhole was in June. The Orlando Sentinel reported that sinkholes cost residents millions of dollars every year because of the insurance costs and structural damage to buildings.

Sinkholes are caused by the dissolution of soft limestone underground. It causes the surface to collapse. Drought followed by heavy rain and construction speed up the process.

Firefighters are waiting for engineers to survey the property. The extent of the damage caused by the sinkhole at Disney World is unclear.

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world news
Sinkhole
disney world
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