Disaster Relief after home destroyed in landslide

My sister and her husband, Rina and Randy Troy, are one of 12 families who have lost their homes to a landslide in Rolling Hills Estates, California. At the moment, there is no identified cause for this landslide, but it is having a devastating impact on all these homes as they slowly slide down the hill.

The movement began suddenly on Thursday, July 6, and gradually increased in intensity until the afternoon on July 8, when firefighters were called to inspect widening gaps. Based on the damage, owners were told they had 20 minutes to quickly gather belongings and evacuate their homes. Twenty of the homes were red-tagged, including my sister's. Since then, the homes have broken, distorted, and snapped into pieces as they slid further and further down the hill.

When the homes began to slide, it was most noticeable in their garage, which began to tilt:

Their once-flat roof now looks like the wavy back of a dragon:

The video below is drone footage on Twitter by photographer Ted Soquie (used with permission). It shows my sister's house on Monday, July 10th, broken into pieces and sliding down the hill.

Their house is on the far right in the photo below. You can see how the house split in half and crumbled. It is so damaged it is unlikely they will ever get in to retrieve possessions.

Being a 2-story house, and a hill for a driveway, they barely got anything out of their homes in such a short time. They each had one bag of clothes, some of their photos, and crucial electronics related to work. My sister could not find her wedding album, and she was not able to save some of her most prized possessions collected over the past 40 years.

They are homeless, and insurance will not pay because this is related to the land movement. At the moment, no known cause has been identified. While the city has declared a state of emergency, there is no way to know when emergency funds will kick in. They have no funds for hotels, and unfortunately, no families have homes that can house them long-term.

Despite the loss, they must continue paying home expenses, including a mortgage. News reports have said this is a wealthy area, but it is actually a middle-class area with hard-working folks. My sister and brother-in-law cannot afford a hotel or new rental on top of a mortgage, and they need to replace clothes, toiletries, and other necessary items. If it is determined this was due to natural causes, they will lose everything but still owe the mortgage on their home. They won't even have land to sell because it is sliding down into the canyon. Even if a cause is found, it will be years before any reimbursement will be seen.

Right now, our father is extremely ill, and our entire family was already in crisis. This is so much to bear at one time. Please donate what you can so they can get shelter and other essentials. Even $10.00 can make a difference. They could use so much support. We are so grateful for any help you can provide.

News articles about this landslide:

Residents evacuated as homes slide down Los Angeles County hillside following ‘significant land movement’