LAND O' LAKES, FLA - A Land O' Lakes woman, who lives a little more than two miles away from the sinkhole that opened last week, is afraid about her own home.
Jomarie Mercurio lives off of Dover Drive. She said her home has a history of problems. In 2002 she had a sinkhole, which was fixed. She did not notice any issues until 2016. She filed another claim through her insurance company, but it was denied.
“Basically they’re telling me that there is damage in my home, but it’s not significant enough and it meets code in the state of Florida and there’s nothing they can do for me," she said.
Thursday afternoon, she showed us some of the damage she sees today.
When a sinkhole opened a little more than two miles away from her home last week, it freaked her out because of what is happening inside her own home.
“Two nights ago I went to the microwave, where I go every night, and I could feel another spot in the floor that’s starting to sink -right under my feet," Mercurio said.
Mercurio said she filed a new claim through the state for a neutral company to re-evaluate her home because she feels it has gotten worse since last year.
“This is all I have, you know. This is 20 years of my life...twenty years of memories...twenty years of living here and, you know, I could lose it overnight because nobody wants to take any action," she said.
Mercurio is fighting to save her home and for lawmakers to listen.
“Basically I feel like I’ve been told when you fall in the hole, we’ll come out. That’s what I feel like, when it gets worse call me," she said.
ABC Action News reached out to some lawmakers to get their take on the state statue, which we're told was revised a few years ago. We're waiting for their responses.
