Residents frustrated with officials' response to backyard sinkhole

PRATTVILLE, Ala. (WLS) -- What if you walked outside your home and found a cliff more than 100 feet tall? That's what neighbors in Prattville, Alabama, say they've been dealing with for weeks.

Neighbors on Mara Court say they're frustrated with the potentially dangerous situation in their backyards, and after weeks of reaching out to city and state officials they don't feel any closer to a solution.

Christmas Eve storms turned what used to be a small drainage ditch into a large gaping hole, and as a result a gorge is now the backdrop of James Franklin's home on Mara Court. He's put up a temporary fence as he and his neighbors wait for the problem to be fixed.

Prattville city leaders say they are working to resolve the issue with FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but that the process takes time.

"All I want to know is what is happening, because if they keep me in the loop, that's fine. If they are doing something, let me know what they are doing because I'm the one who lost the most," Franklin says.