Amanda Angelo wasn't sure where she was staying Monday night. At 2:30 p.m. Monday, she was packing up her house, her kids, her life and preparing to spend at least two weeks away.
As she got her things together, she could look outside and see the massive sinkhole on Riverside Drive forcing her family and at least seven others away.
"We have nowhere to go, no nothing. It's a lot," Angelo said. "I don't even know what to take. We just went grocery shopping this morning."
She and her boyfriend and her four children between the ages of 5 and 11 stayed in the apartment in the cold Sunday night.
Angelo, 33, said they were initially told it would be safe to stay, so they bought heaters and prepared to tough it out with no water or gas, but around 2 p.m. Monday, her landlord and the city of Cincinnati said it was no longer safe.
Her landlord had just come around to collect some of this month's rent Monday morning, she said. He told her they might get a portion of it back.
The 60-inch water main broke Saturday afternoon creating a sinkhole and basically swallowing a car in the process.
Angelo said they were out getting groceries and swinging by a relative's house when it happened. They saw the scene when they pulled on their street.
"We thought it was the fire hydrant, but then we saw the pavement cracking," she said.
They stayed with a friend Saturday night returning the next day, but sleeping in the apartment was surreal.
"It was like a movie scene outside," Angelo said. "So much light and people working."
She couldn't sleep.
In the daylight, she saw the edge of the hole just feet away from her front window. She said she watched as the workers dug the hole deeper to reach the water main.
Now she's trying to decide if she should take the cats or leave out food for them, and what she should do with the $300 of groceries they just bought.
"Our New Year's resolution is we're not eating out anywhere," Angelo said. "Look at us now – sticking my foot in my mouth."
Her boyfriend may have to miss work. Her children are upset and she'll have to figure out a way to do their virtual learning from somewhere else.
At 2:30 p.m., she said her landlord told them there would be some assistance, so if they aren't directed to go somewhere, they plan on driving down the street and waiting at least a little while.
But she said they were more fortunate than some. Another family lost everything, had their home condemned and were told they couldn't go inside to get their belongings, she said.
Now she waits. Officials have said it could be two weeks or longer before things are repaired.
"My anxiety is high. Change is a lot for me, but I'm hanging in there," Angelo said. "We'll all get through this together as a community."
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