. >> mike dupree's home came down of what the sink hole started.ss the street dupree's is what his daughter and johnny looked on of nothing he can do but to let go. >> it is hurt obviously, it is our home. >> dupree's home and the one next door is marked for demolition -- handing them books and american flags and as the house going down, a few more memo recovered. >> family pictures that's what we hope for. >> now it is the dupree who found themselves homeless but they're getting support more than they could imagine. >> i am blessed and i never expected how the community and how strong it is here. >> authorities evacuated several other homes around the dupree's. sink holes have become an increasingly problem in florida and some with deadly consequences and earlier this year a young man swallowed up and killed while he slept and near orlando, no death but an entire section of a resort collapsed of the hole and people escaping with just the clothes on their backs. >>> residents of texas evacuated due to the pipeline explosion. homes that's in the red

it was the dupree family home breaking up.orch and the brand new boat devoured by the earth. today, a demolition crew took care of the rest -- pushing the remains into the sinkhole, reducing what housed five years of dupree family memories to dust. later this weekend, it will also be filled in with sand. >> the dupree family says they knew the sinkhole was here years ago. but were fighting with their insurance company on exactly how to fix it. the duprees aren't alone, this homeowner has been living with the danger of a potential sinkhole on his property while he slugs it out with his insurance company on how to proceed. >> we are in a dangerous situation. >> definitely. >> it's been for the past three years. >> we get up in the morning and notice that crack is bigger. i mean, all of a sudden, it's gotten larger. >> reporter: the nonaction can lead to a form of real estate roulette where every day could turn to drama. >> this entire area and our home could fall into the earth. >> could just collapse. >> with us in it. >> the b

that is behind michael dupree's home, he's the homeowner who lost his home.tion of the back of his home collapsing as the hole continues to open up wider and the structure continues to fall into that hole, along with the neighbor's house next door which is continuing to collapse into the sinkhole. now, we did talk to michael dupree also a little bit ago and he told us what happened early this morning when he first heard the noise of the sinkhole. >> i saw our screen room already going down into that sinkhole and at that point i just turned around and said everybody out, grab some clothes and try to get out of the house, and called 911. >> reporter: dupree said he and his family will stay at a local hotel for the next couple nights. hotel has donated those rooms to him. he doesn't know when, if he will be able to get any of his belongings out of the house. they basically got out with just the clothes on their backs. some of the other neighbors of course in pretty much the same boat. here is one really cool story. the fire department went into the house because

across the street, dupree, his wife and daughter looked on.: dupree's home and one next door were marked for demolition. too unstable for anyone to go inside. firefighters would walk over to the duprees handing them a few small items. books. an american flag. as more of the house was pulled down, a few more memories were recovered. >> pictures. that's the most important. >> reporter: there is tragic irony in what happened here. mike and his wife work at a homeless shelter in clearwater. now the duprees find themselves homeless. they are getting support. >> i'm amazed. it blows me away. we have been talking about it all night last night. we have never expected how the community is. >> reporter: authorities evacuated other homes around the duprees, at least until they are sure the hole is not expanding. sinkholes are a frequent problem in florida. some with deadly consequences. earlier this year, a young man swallowed up and killed while he slept. near orlando, no deaths, but an entire section of a resort collapsing in a hole. people escaping wi

. >> reporter: the dupree family says they knew the sinkhole was here two years ago, but were fighting with their insurance company on how to fix it. the contractors had just started work this week. steve osunsami, abc news, dunedin, florida. >>> and now we turn to a made in america success story with a twist. imagine you're living with your parents when you have a great idea, an idea so good that facebook offers you billions in cold cash to buy it. how is it possible the two guys turned the money down? linzie janis tells us. >> reporter: 23-year-old evan spiegel and 25-year-old bob murphy built snapchat out of a venice beach bungalow. maxing out their credit cards to fund the business. two years later, the stanford fraternity brothers are turning down three billion dollars in cash from facebook's mark zuckerberg. even though their company makes no money. >> they're holding out for more money. >> reporter: so what does snapchat have that facebook wants? >> young people. if facebook wants to continue to grow, they need to make sure they get everybody. >> reporter: the idea for snapchat

. >> reporter: the dupree family is beyond frustrated.hey first saw the cracks and heard the creeks in 2011. the insurance company agreed they had a sinkhole. but disagreed on how it should be fixed. the family lost in court. and the work had just started this week, too late to save the home. >> the stress of dealing with it every day. and the stress of having to deal with fighting the insurance company to do the right thing. >> reporter: just a few miles up the highway, the ferraros have a sinkhole growing underneath them. an engineer says their home is ready to collapse. they're fighting their insurance company, too. >> this entire area and our home could fall into the earth. >> could just collapse. >> with us in it. >> reporter: the experts tell us there are thousands of possible sinkholes waiting to open up under florida homes. and these are just the new ones. more than 250 reports since may of last year. >> right now, we're not getting the support of the insurance companies. and we're not getting support of elected officials. >> repo

the homeowner, michael dupree, was started away by his daughter.t someone was breaking into their home of he went to look and their back room had disappeared. plunged into the earth will. >> it is bizarre. it hurts, obviously. it's your home. >> your family is taking it okay? >> well, as good as possible snmpl the insurance company knew there was sinkhole activity. for two years he had work the company to get it fixed. now he is lucky to be alive. >>> our fourth story, burying the dead. one week after super typhoon heyen. bodies upon bodies. those are black body bags you are looking at. and you will see, what tilages here are not convey is the smell. the death toll now stands at 3631. that number will rise. at least 1,100 more missing still. the hope of finding survivors more unlikely with each passing day. nick payton walsh is "outfront." >> reporter: where it ends for so many. the corpse that's have littered tacloban. so much of the city rests here. and the horror of how they must have died themselves leave many questions, too. among the overpowe

. >> reporter: michael dupree said his family was asleep and called the police when they heard the soundf the sinkhole swallowing their home. >> how far is it sinking? >> it's just cracking. the whole house and the floors are cracking. >> reporter: they ran for their lives. he left his wedding ring behind. firefighters went back inside to find it. >> they broke in the window in the back, before it came down. grabbed it and got it for me. >> reporter: this morning, authorities believe it has stopped growing. they knew the sinkhole was here two years ago. the family had been fighting with their insurance company on how to fix it. and contractors had just started the work this week. >> it was really loud. we thought maybe it was someone trying to break in. >> reporter: in march, a seffner, florida, homeowner was killed in his bed, buried alive. in august, vacationers outside orlando were scared silly when their villa started falling into the ground. this year alone, florida residents have reported more than 255 sinkholes. josh? >> remarkable stuff. steve, thank you for that. >>> also in flo

this is a section of mike dupree's home collapsing after an enormous sinkhole opened up beneath it.s been falling a piece at a time, slowly, agonizingly. >> i saw our screen room already going down towards into that sinkhole. at that point i turned around and said, everybody out, get some clothes and called 911. >> reporter: others are at risk, too. at least a half dozen homes in all. for dupre, this is a bitter ending. he was planning to remodel, put in a pool. >> it's our house. we were going to stay here the rest of our life. so that's not going to be happening. >> reporter: two years ago after spotting cracks in his walls, an engineer for dupre's insurance company verified there was sinkhole activity under his house. that engineer and another one hired by dupre disagreed on how best to fix it. ultimately dupre said, citizens won. >> our way or the highway, basically. >> reporter: just this week preliminary work had begun to stabilize the home. not soon enough. in a statement citizens told us, quote, the law is pretty straightforward. it does not let us nor do we want to get in t

i wouldn't want to live in there anymor >> michael dupree is the owner of the home.-lapse video shows how the house and its coents were taken by the sinkhole. today he and his neighbor are hoping they can retu to salvage memories before the sinkhole gets them >> it's huge. >> rorter: neighbors know they live in anrea prone to sinkholes. in mar, a 30-foot hole opened and swalwed a man as hi slept. hibody was never recoved and in august, a 90 foot sinkhole got part of a vacation resort in florida. they're common in the state because thsoil sits atop clay and limestone. it creates a cavitand when the heavy top lar collapses it creates a sinkhole. >> it uld continue to come into other yards andpen. so it is dinitely an emergency situation here right now. >> reporter: a neighborhood under asult from the ground below. >> i just feel real bad r these ople because they're just wonderfuleople and now they can't even get near their house. >> reporter: the two homes have beecondemned. they're going to be tearing them down later this week and starting today they're going to star