Huge sinkhole swallows portion of home in Florida

A family escaped their Apopka home hours before a possible sinkhole swallowed up a portion of the house, officials with Orange County Fire Rescue said.

The family was evacuated from the home and were not injured, Kennedy said. Florida has more sinkholes than any other state, and heavy rainfall plays a big part in that.

The Millers will stay with their daughter next door while they figure out their next step. "It's the only home I've ever had".

The same family has lived in the house since 1969 and remodeled it five years ago. By Tuesday morning, an entire part of the home collapsed into to the apparent sinkhole. "It's just stuff that's not replaceable".

Apopka is in central Florida, about 18 miles (29 kilometers) northwest of Orlando.

Long after the worst of the debris has been cleared, people living in affected regions can spend months cleaning up after a powerful hurricane.