CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Homeowner Kim Edgecomb has lived on Padre Island for eight years with her family and was devastated to find catastrophic and immediate damage to their home last week from Tropical Storm Alberto.
"He heard, 'Oh my God. Get up. We've got a problem," she said.
Downed trees and a breached bulkhead are just some of the issues with the home and its foundation.
"We sent my son to Pennsylvania to get away," she said. "He was tired of living in a 'war zone.' He said he wanted to live in a normal house. So he's with friends right now."
Plus, sand still is being pulled from under the home, destabilizing it, which has forced the family to separate for safety reasons.
"He's been moved out of his room and into the front room so he's closer to the door, because his room is on the side of the house that will be the first to collapse," she said.
That is the side of the house that faces their next-door neighbor, Brent's, home, which also is experiencing similar issues.
"When we saw their wall cave in and go down, we knew ours was next," he said. "Throughout the days, we started hearing the concrete 'pop.' I guess -- what they tell us -- the tiebacks breaking."
So far, no one knows whose responsible for the fixes.
There is speculation the Padre Island Property Owners Association will close off the canal with a dam, 3NEWS was unable to confirm this by news time.
Corpus Christi City Councilman Dan Suckley said the City is not liable for fixes.
"Their personal residence are their own private property," he said. "The bulkheads are the ownerships of the POA, and the waterways are not the City's, either."
But they and other Padre Island residents fear for their homes if another storm hits.
"So we've moved out most of the stuff in our house, and prepared to evacuate with the next storm if this doesn't get shored up," he said.