With the official start of the 2021 hurricane season, an Edinboro family is having some anxious moments as their house is cracking due to a recent landslide.
The landslide occurred a few weeks ago when torrential rainfall pounded this island, causing severe flooding and landslides and varying degrees of damage to houses and other infrastructure.
In an interview on Monday, homeowner Sean Poyer said one of the columns on one side of the house was left exposed after the soil around it was washed downslope.
Poyer pointed out cracks (primarily vertical) in the concrete walls in at least two bedrooms and the living room on one side of the house.
According to Poyer, because the column was left without firm support, it shifted, and thus the integrity of the foundation has been compromised. As a result, the cracks started to appear.
Poyer is already making efforts to reduce the chances of further erosion of the affected column and to strengthen the foundation.
But, even as he makes those attempts, there is a significant challenge that can have a negative impact on all his efforts if not corrected soonest.
That major challenge is preventing further slippage of the sloping land between his property and the one below, which has already suffered considerable damage, forcing a family of four to evacuate as the water broke a window and rushed into the house. At the same time, mud, stones, and trees crashed into the back of the house.
Poyer said that to prevent further soil erosion and further damage to his house, a retaining wall is needed urgently.
Poyer works with the Canadian farm programme, but he has been home for quite some time because of the Covid-19 pandemic. He hopes that while he is using what little resources he has left, some form of assistance will come to him and his family.
The Poyer family includes his wife Alicia and their six-year-old triplet.
