TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa family is homeless this Christmas after their home collapsed on Monday. The family claims the house caved in after roofers put too much weight on the roof.
What You Need To Know
- A Tampa family says Hurricane Milton damaged their home and that it collapsed after work was done on the roof
- The home collapsed Monday, two days before Christmas
- There is a GoFundMe page started by a family member for the family
The Sowell’s knew this Christmas would be spent with friends and family, but they never dreamed they would be helping them salvage whatever they could from their home.
“It went from the 23rd of December, at 6:30 in the morning, everything was fine, hunky dory, to 1:30 in the afternoon, we lost our entire house,” said Victoria Sowell.
Hurricane Milton damaged their roof, and Sowell says after being on a waiting list with the roofing company, crews finally arrived early Monday morning to start work. At first, she says she was excited — a new roof for Christmas — but by lunch time, she realized something wasn’t right.
“When we came back and walked in the house, there was light, you could see light from the wall to the ceiling, and I sent a picture to the foreman and said, 'We’ve got a problem,'” she said.
In pictures taken by Sowell’s neighbor, roofing supplies can be seen piled onto the roof, sinking. Victoria says within a matter of minutes, she and her husband heard the first cracks.
“I started screaming, 'Stop! Stop what you’re doing!'" she said. "And so, we started grabbing stuff, saying stop, stop, stop, the tree was like right under where the wall was starting to crack, and I grabbed all the Christmas presents, and I grabbed the tree and the people came in, and they were like, 'Oh my God, oh my God!'” she said.
They escaped through a bathroom window and made it out safely. Sowell says the entire house came down within 10 minutes.
“There was a lot, a lot of material on the roof. When code enforcement came, they did not think it was handled properly, that maybe it was too much weight," she said. "I have talked to my insurance but nothing has happened yet."
Even though this is far from the Christmas Sowell envisioned, she knows her family will make it through.
“We will rebuild, or whatever we’re going to do, it’s a testament to our family and how we can handle things," she said.
There is a GoFundMe page started by a family member for the Sowells’.
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