Get Out of the Building I’m definitely haunted by that night Maggie Ghamry said The date was August 11 2013 Maggie was vacationing at the Summer Bay Resort in Clermont Florida just down the road from Walt Disney World It was a typical August evening at the resort Tourists in tank tops and flip flops settled into their rooms Energetic children slammed doors and ran up and down the halls Clermont Florida is known as the Sunshine State These days it’s also gaining fame as the nation’s sinkhole capital 4
At first Maggie figured that the commotion she was hearing was just some kids outside her door The floor shook and there were strange popping noises Then she heard windows breaking Next thing I knew people are yelling Get out of the building Get out the building Maggie said The evacuation of the Summer Bay Resort started at about 10 30 p m The disaster seemed to come out of nowhere In reality the sinkhole had been forming for years underground 5
Some people threw their belongings off balconies before they rushed out One woman ran straight from the tub when it bounced into the air Another couple’s door wouldn’t open because the frame collapsed They climbed out of their window with their baby It almost seemed like the building was imploding turning in a vortex as if being consumed in quicksand It was so surreal Maggie said 6
As everyone fled one person rushed from room to room Security guard Richard Shanley remembers the ceiling falling down around him as he ran through the halls searching for stragglers Thanks to Richard all 36 guests escaped the building shaken but unharmed Some 40 minutes later the three-story building crumbled into a sinkhole the size of a football field Fast Fact Sinkholes are also known as sinks swallow holes and dolines 7
