Hillsborough County authorities will spend Tuesday evaluating a second sinkhole in Seffner, less than two miles from the deadly sinkhole that opened up last week.
The newest sinkhole is on Cedar Tree Lane, 1.5 miles from the sinkhole that opened up beneath a man’s bedroom at 240 Faithway Drive.
The sinkhole was found underneath in the back yards of two homes, split by the property-line fence.
Currently, Hillsborough County Code Enforcement officials say the hole is not big enough to threaten any homes. Officials estimate the hole is about 12 feet wide and five feet deep.
Still, Cedar Tree Lane residents are extremely concerned.
"We're not going to stay in the house anymore," said Katia Vargas, a neighbor. "My mom and my whole entire family (are) scared to live in it because of what happened to my neighbor. We have sinkholes, so we're just going to stay in a hotel for now and see what we can do."
Ana Maria Serna owns one of the houses where the hole has formed. She was renting it out, but no one has lived in it for about a year. She said when she bought it in 2003, there was a small hole in the backyard but she didn't think too much about it.
"Only my neighbor said 'be careful' because in the backyard there was a hole but as for the person who made the inspection, they said 'everything is good,' " Serna said.
County officials will continue to monitor the hole.
So far, they're not ordering any evacuations, and they say there doesn't appear to be any structural damage to the homes.