DELTONA, Fla. – A Deltona family woke up to popping noises and their house buckling, on Wednesday morning.
"There is a drainage that's right next, that abuts the house, the side of the home itself. Water appeared to be flowing up under there and possibly causing some subsiding and erosion occurrence that may have caused the home to settle," said Tom Carey, Volusia County pollution control manager.
It's water that county officials believe came from the pool deck area and gutter system, creating cracks in the foundation.
"We've been inside the house where one of the walls has been lifted from the floor of the home and many of the doors don't open," said Carey.
The closed doors forced the family of four and two dogs to evacuate through a window.
Carey said residents can tell if their house is settling by the sound it makes.
"There will be a pop because of some stress either in the wooden part of the home or some sort of the interior that will create a big pop or a big bang, or something like that," he said.
The county said the home, now surrounded by caution tape is deemed dangerous and uninhabitable.
Officials said a structural engineer with special equipment needs to get underneath the home to determine if it's a sinkhole or erosion that caused the house to settle.