Sinkholes opened up at a local community after heavy rain this week, less than a year after residents from the same community were displaced due to sinkholes opening up days after a hurricane.

On Tuesday, residents of Ocala Preserve reported that a collection of pooling water due to the heavy rain eventually opened sinkholes at their community in northwest Ocala.

According to one neighbor, the drainage area was filled with water and looked like a “mini lake” before all of the water was suddenly gone.

A large sinkhole has opened up at an Ocala community where four other sinkholes displaced residents last August.
A large sinkhole has opened up at an Ocala community where four other sinkholes displaced residents last August.

The National Weather Service reports that Ocala has received multiple inches of rain this month, including nearly two inches on Wednesday, July 16.

Sinkholes are formed when enough rainfall seeps through soil, causing the water to react with decaying vegetation and carbon dioxide and creating slightly acidic water. The water moves through the spaces and cracks underground, dissolving bedrock and creating a network of cavities and voids.

As the bedrock dissolves, the cracks and voids widen and carry more water through them. This process continues until the land above becomes weak and “sinks” in to the ground.

In Ocala Preserve, it is not the first time sinkholes have impacted the community. Last August, multiple residents were displaced from Ocala Preserve due to four separate sinkholes that opened up in the days after Hurricane Derby. One of those sinkholes opened underneath a garage.

At the time, residents reported that water had pooled and created the sinkhole due to inadequate drainage and infrastructure.

Ocala Preserve is located in the northwest part of the city. It is situated a couple of miles east of the World Equestrian Center and just a few miles north of the Ocala International Airport. The neighborhood is one of multiple developments in the area that have been constructed by D.R. Horton, the largest homebuilder in the United States.

D.R. Horton has been behind Emerson Pointe, The Towns at Laurel Commons, Ocala Crossings South, JB Ranch, and multiple other communities that have opened or will open soon in Ocala.