Fire Chief Nim Kidd, also the city's emergency management coordinator, said some residents who were evacuated from homes in The Hills at Rivermist, Sunday may be allowed back into their homes Monday afternoon. Officials will contact residents between 2 and 4 p.m. to inform them if their home is safe to inhabit once again, Kidd said. 
   See Readers comments  
Click to post new comments in the Express News
 Ground collapse prompts evacuation
 Arial view: Neighborhood before homes were constructed on Valley Well
 Note: Microsoft Silverlight is needed to view map.

Meanwhile, dozens of residents in the neighborhood near West Hausman Road and Loop 1604 are waiting to be escorted into their homes to pick up medicine, identification and other immediate needs, officials said. Most of those awaiting entry are still in clothes they wore Sunday around 11 a.m., when officials evacuated several streets after neighbors noticed what started as a small gap between their back porch and yard quickly became several feet deep.

Authorities Sunday said crevices measured from 12 to 15 feet deep, and from 6 to 8 feet wide, although fire department spokeswoman Melissa Sparks said it remains unclear Monday exactly how much the land shifted overnight. At last check, authorities estimated the ground was moving at a rate of about 1 inch every 15 minutes, Sparks said.

The technical rescue unit, which has been extensively trained on skills like rappelling and trench rescue, began evaluating the land shift Sunday night to determine how close engineers can get to investigate the cause of the problem. They remain in the neighborhood to ensure the safety of residents and the engineers, officials said.

Meanwhile, the American Red Cross — San Antonio Area Chapter's temporary shelter housed at O'Connor High School's Agriculture Center closed around 11 p.m. Sunday, as representatives with the neighborhood's builders, Pulte Homes Inc. and Centex Homes Inc., offered evacuated residents hotel rooms at a nearby hotel.

People were allowed back into their homes temporarily after a meeting with the homebuilders Sunday night to retrieve necessities, officials said, but residents did not remain in the affected homes overnight.

While most residents were evacuated Sunday starting around noon, several other families were told to pack their belongings and leave Sunday evening, Sparks said. Utilities had been cut to affected homes to avoid a gas leak or fire, officials said, and several homes that weren't threatened by the moving land lost power.

At least three homes have sustained structural damage, officials said, and authorities estimated up to five could be damaged by the shift.

Laurin Darnell with Pulte Homes said evacuated residents may call 311 or (210) 389-2042 for more information. A second neighborhood meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at the Drury Inn and Suites, at Interstate 10 and Loop 1604.