Imagine being sound asleep on a cold night, and then having your house fall down without you even knowing! Nothing nice, and that's just what happened to 24 year old Diana Mortis this morning. We visited her today and she told us that had it not been for her neighbors she would not even have known that her house had toppled. Here's more.
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
At around 5 this morning 24 year old Diana Mortis and her 3 children were sleeping in her home, here at number 13 Dickenson Street when the structure came crashing down.
Diana Mortis,
"We just heard 'bang' and then the neighbors ran across and asked us if we were still living but we understand the house had dropped. We didn't know the house had dropped. I am glad we are safe. We got quick help too because the neighbors heard and they ran across and came to check if we were still alive and thing like that. I think that was a quick neighborhood response which we got this morning. The door was stuck and that is why the neighbor from over the there came across and broke it down."
When neighbors managed to get into the two-bedroom house they found it in a complete mess. The very little that the young family owns was destroyed. This coffee maker was shattered; Mortis and Matura don=t know if this television set is working; here's a broken television stand and the house is coming apart. Outside BEL crews were restoring electricity after the house pulled the power pole down when it toppled off its stilts. As the couple contemplate the disaster area, they say that they have been living here for the past 3 months on the graces of a family member.
Diana Mortis,
"We had nowhere to stay due to how we had problem with rent and renting different rooms so the owner of the house gave us somewhere to stay for the
meanwhile. I have three children and then to be out of door, its not easy so I don't know if the public can assist us in anyway."
Carlos Matura,
"Most of my stuff were destroyed so I have to spend again."
Alfonso Noble,
So you think you will have a bad Christmas?
Carlos Matura,
"No. I know God won't make me have a bad Christmas. I gave myself twenty four hours today to get a home and I will get a home between now and twenty four hours."
With that pressure on him, 35-year-old Carlos Matura says that the Christmas celebrations that he and his family were planning on this year are not looking all that bright.
Carlos Matura,
"Very really hard for me right now because I don't know where I will get the money to at least rent somewhere in the meantime because right now my wife is fighting to get her land to build her house and if that had already happened, we wouldn't have had to go through this problem here again. We've been waiting for six months, from June, and all the people have us doing is going up and down and up and down and sit down without getting response about it.
I feel a little bit upset because they say Christmas is for the family and at this moment I don't know what to do and I can't anything about it because the only thing I can say is that Thank God my family is alright and my kids are okay."
And while they are all 'ok,' it's the slenderest of mercies, as this family faces a blue and bleak Christmas.
The Matura children are Christopher age 3, Carla who is 1 year 9 months and David Matura who is 9 months. Anyone wishing to assist Diana Mortis and Carlos Matura can contact them at telephone numbers 660-7161 or 600-7436.
