Sinkhole leaves Allentown residents nearly homeless

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - January 2, 2012 (WPVI) -- The large sinkhole that swallowed part of an Allentown neighborhood and evacuated dozens last week, continues to cause problems.

J.R.Rosado is one of many who used to live on the 300 block of North 10th Street.

Now he, his wife, his three children and his dog, all live inside his parent's tiny apartment a few blocks away.

"My wife sleeps on one side on the floor, then the kids and I sleep on the other side," said Rosado.

The good news for Rosado, is that he and his family were renting their home.

Geryl Hodge who lives just two doors down, owns hers.

She recently found out from her insurance agent that her homeowner's policy doesn't cover sinkhole damage.

"It's not an event that is covered by our policy and basically they've been quoting the exclusions," said Hodge.

She and her two children have been staying at a local hotel courtesy of the city but Allentown officials are only paying for the room through Tuesday night.

Hodge says she can't afford to pay for the room herself and all the local shelters are full.

On top of that, her home is so unstable that she can't go back to retrieve clothing and personal items.

Despite all of that, little help is coming her way.

Since a water main break is the likely cause, the sinkhole is not considered a natural disaster so state and federal agencies are not getting involved.

Now, with one day to go before being officially homeless, Hodge is considering hiring an attorney to find out who is responsible.

"Why do we have to go that route? Why can't someone step up and take responsibility? It's been frustrating," said Hodge.

As of right now, two of the homes on the block will likely need to be demolished, and a few more could suffer the same fate, including the Hodge family home.

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pennsylvania, lehigh county, allentown, water main break, local/state

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