Giant Sink Hole at Disney Area Resort - Usually it's a CASH SINK HOLE with any Disney Area Resort! (VIDEO-PHOTOS)

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A sinkhole caused a section of a central Florida resort villa to partially collapse early Monday, while another section of the villa was sinking, authorities say.

MyFoxOrlando.com reported that residents of the Summer Bay Resort in Clermont, about 10 miles west of Disney World, called 911 shortly before midnight Sunday to report loud creaking noises and breaking windows. Firefighters then evacuated the building.

At around 3 a.m. Monday, about 30 percent of the three-story structure collapsed, Lake County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Tony Cuellar told the Associated Press. 

Cuellar said authorities were also concerned about another section of the villa, which was sinking.

The sinkhole, which is in the middle of the villa, is about 40 to 50 feet in diameter, Cuellar said. He said authorities think it was getting deeper but couldn't tell early Monday if it was growing outward. The sinkhole was estimated to be around 15 feet deep.

County inspectors were expected to assess the damage later Monday morning.  

The villa houses 24 units and about 20 people were staying in it at the time, Cuellar said. All of the residents are accounted for, and most have been placed in nearby hotels. 

A nearby villa was also evacuated as a precaution, Cuellar said, adding that there was a gas leak but the gas has since been shut off.

Witnesses told The Associated Press they could hear a cracking sound as the villa began sinking. A large crack was visible at the building's base.

Luis Perez, who was staying at a villa near the sinking one, said he was in his room when the lights went off around 11:30 p.m. He said he was on his way to the front desk to report the outage when he saw firefighters and police outside.

"I started walking toward where they were at and you could see the building leaning and you could see a big crack at the base of the building," said Perez, 54, of Berona, N.J.

Florida has a long and ongoing problem with sinkholes, which cause millions of dollars in damage in the state annually. On March 1, a sinkhole underneath a house in Seffner, about 60 miles southwest of the Summer Bay Resort, swallowed a man who was in his bed. His body was never recovered.

But such fatalities and injuries are rare and most sinkholes are small. Sinkholes can develop quickly or slowly over time.

They are caused by Florida's geology — the state sits on limestone, a porous rock that easily dissolves in water, with a layer of clay on top. The clay is thicker in some locations making them even more prone to sinkholes.

Other states sit atop limestone in a similar way, but Florida has additional factors like extreme weather, development, aquifer pumping and construction.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/12/sinkhole-causes-florida-resort-villa-to-collapse/?test=latestnews#ixzz2blJA9Wwv