San Rafael neighbors anxiety riddled, displaced after landslide

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (KGO) -- A North Bay home was destroyed Tuesday after a mudslide crashed through it. The natural disaster is causing neighbors anxiety and worry.

RELATED: Mudslide rips San Rafael home in two, residents escape

Juan Alvarez is a man trying patiently to resolve a cascading landslide of problems. He owns the home next door to the house that made national news for all the wrong reasons Tuesday.

A mudslide on Mountain View Avenue in San Rafael destroyed one home and put red tags on those of his neighbors.

Compounding Alvarez' problems, this house also served as his wife's place of business. She ran a daycare center. "We have a lot of problems because the insurance does not pay for the damage," said Rena Ortega.

The house has been a morbid attraction since the landslide took it Tuesday.

"IT just happens," said Rena. "There is nothing you can do about it."

Late Wednesday, Darious Abolassani looked around. He's an expert on soil engineering.

What happened Tuesday was a matter of ground so saturated, on such a steep slope that it just began sliding.

Often the critical moment arrives with no symptoms.

"If soil gradually, gradually soaked gradually moves, you could see cracks and knuckles in the pavement," said Abolassani. "Then you can tell there is a problem."

For Alvarez and his family the problem will be finding a place to sleep until they move back in, if they move back in.

When asked where they'd stay Ortega replied, "I don't know."

This uncertainty plagues the owners of the home, next to the house that made national headlines.

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