Water main break floods family home leaving homeowner facing major loss
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) - Homeowner Guadalupe Montiel looked around her home of decades taking in the loss from the water main break just feet away from her home.
"I lost my husband barely last year in November, everything that is his is here, and for me to lose it, it's hard," shared Montiel.
Mud covers the floors, water lines stain the walls, showing how high the water rose in a matter of minutes.
Today, the wood flooring warped parts of it destroyed. All this after gallons of water poured through her home in the early morning hours of Sunday.
Towels were shoved under doors in an attempt to stop the water from coming in, but it helped very little.
“We need to get out. Well, the first thing is right that I go, we need to get my dad out. I just, I went blank. I forgot everything. I even forgot his medication. I forgot mine. I just wanted to get my dad out,” Montiel said of those frightening moments as the water breached her household.
Her father, who is disabled, needed help to get out safely. Montiel worried about his safety and where they would spend the night.
The damage wasn’t limited to the inside. A stone wall is split in half. The ground beneath it collapsed, creating a sinkhole filled with water, where pipes and debris are lay exposed.
“When I was looking outside and seeing the water, I saw the water going under the house. I go, 'I’m scared that the house is gonna sink in'.”
Montiel says she is now faced with uncertainty, concerned about mold, structural damage and whether the home is still safe to live in.
