Engineers and an emergency management team remain on the scene of a Falmouth, N.S., home that was deemed inaccessible after a sinkhole formed underneath.
Heather Strickey says she was woken up around 4 a.m. Sunday to what she thought were burglars. She was shocked to discover her home was sinking into the soil.
The home will now have to be demolished this week.
“We had 10 fabulous years here and knowing that is now at an end, it is really sad,” Strickey says. “The plus side is we're still standing. Our house may not be, but we're still here.”
Fire crews evacuated the homeowners and began calling neighbours to check if their homes were structurally sound.
The main sinkhole is at the front of the house, but two others were found through further investigation. The outside structure remains intact, but some of the interior has been swallowed by the sinkhole.
Strickey says they’re still waiting for information from the insurance company on what will happen in the long term.
“In our insurance policy it says our house is insured for collapse and I don't think you can ask for something more obvious,” Strickey says. “Our house is literally collapsing into a hole.”
Strickey says her family will likely slip into bankruptcy if they are not covered.
“Obviously we can't pay for mortgage on a house we can't live in,” she says.
The Municipality of West Hants believes this is an isolated incident, but has brought in geological engineers to assess the damage and determine the cause.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Marie Adsett.
