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Sinkholes are not uncommon in Florida due to the geography. Rainfall dissolves bedrock in the ground that creates sinkholes. As of today, the home is beginning to be demolished but the dislodged family still in grief over the lost family member, who is now "presumed dead." NBC News quoted Administrator Mike Merrill as saying that "With all the equipment that we brought in and specialized help, we have just no been able to locate Mr. bush, and so for that reason the rescue effort is being discontinued."
After the house is brought down, the officials will attempt to stabilize the 30 feet wide and 60 feet deep sinkhole. However, it is doubtful that Bush's body will be found. There were also two nearby houses that required evacuation, though the residents were allowed a few minutes to gather possessions.
How do you think the state of Florida can do to prevent such tragedies? Should the government get more involved in its peoples lives in incidences such as these? Do such deaths deserve more coverage than others? Share your thoughts.
5 comments:
I feel like there isn't too much the Florida government can do; these events are simply unfortunate coincidence. I feel that one way the Florida government might be able to help is if they check the land to see the potential for sink holes before they build the home. Another way might be to check homes and see if a sink hole can potentially occur. The coverage of this event seems to be enough for me. To me it's like a natural disaster, it unfortunate but it happens.
Along the same lines as Eddie, there really isn't much the Florida state government can do about sinkholes. It's an unfortunate reality that the land in Florida is extremely susceptible to sinkholes with its unstable bedrock. Unless there is a way to construct homes to be more stable and "sinkhole-proof," tragedies such as this one will continue to happen. It is a possibility that the government could provide financial assistance in the case of this kind of natural disaster, but I feel like that would spark a large increase in controversy over already tension-filled government involvement in individual's lives. Thus, to answer the question put forth, I feel like pretty much any extensive involvement in prevention of sinkholes will cause more controversy than Florida state government members want to unearth, and I don't think that policy towards these types of natural disasters is gong to change dramatically in the wake of this incident.
I agree with Rory and Eddie--the government can't possibly know about every sink hole, or it wouldn't be such a huge issue. Plans can be put into place to avoid the sink holes, however. Again, as the commentators before me have said, programs could be created to help decrease the sink hole related incidents (a sink hole committee funded by the Florida government?) and financial aid could be offered to those who were genuinely unaware that their home was built on a sink hole (as opposed to the rare case of a stubborn individual who ignores warnings) and who suffered because of it. Though this may stir up controversy, in my opinion, it is worthwhile to attempt to solve the issue regardless.
While I do believe that this is a very tragic and unfortunate event, like what everyone else has previously stated I do not believe that any government should get involved. You could propose a state sponsored sink hole committee, but the bottom line is that it just seems unnecessary and wasteful. When people move to Florida they should all have in mind that it's notorious for rain, hurricanes and apparently sinkholes. When purchasing their new home that have to keep all these factors in mind. It's the homeowner's responsibility to check every factor and consult the home inspector and all the specs of the home. It's again unfortunate this happened but there's really nothing the government can do since proposing a state sponsored sink hole investigation sounds rather expensive (and especially since they collect no income tax)
I agree that it would be very difficult to prevent sinkhole-related tragedies in Florida's future. However, there are definitely some things the Floridian government can do in order to reduce the resulting damage. For instance, the city governments could do regular stability checks to get statistics on which locations might be more prone to sinkholes. Once there is a substantial database of statistics, residents of dangerous areas could be better prepared knowing that they house could plummet into the ground at any moment. In addition, the governments could check certain sites more often than others. The knowledge that a certain area is less desirable for non-sinkhole enthusiasts would obviously drive those property values down. However, these problem areas could be remedied if an un-erupted sinkhole is discovered in time. The underground cavern could be filled with dirt or other materials to prevent it from collapsing. While these suggestions would be costly, the residents of Florida would be safer from harm and the state of Florida would have a much better reputation regarding sinkhole tragedy.
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