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L.I. Woman Says She's Being Forced Back Into Her Moldy, Gutted Home

OCEANSIDE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - The home isn't really livable, but one Long Island family hit hard by superstorm Sandy has been forced back into it.

When you walk into Christina Salazar's one-story home on Morrow Road in Oceanside, you're instantly hit with a musky mold odor, WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported.

The house is gutted and there are traces of what used to be the carpeting on the floors.

Even though this house has no heat water or electricity, Salazar told Hall that FEMA is no longer paying for her family to stay in hotels and they have to move back in on Sunday.

L.I. Woman Says She's Being Forced Back Into Her Moldy, Gutted Home

"I feel like people outside of the situation don't understand how long it takes to make things livable again," she said.

She said through the STEP (Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power) program, the water, lights, and heat will be on by the time she moves in. The mold will also have been removed, thanks to v volunteers from Samaritan's Purse.

Mold Christina Salazar Oceanside Sandy
Mold in Christina Salazar's home in Oceanside, Long Island following Sandy - Jan. 11, 2013 (credit: Sophia Hall / WCBS 880)

But as far as flooring or furniture, she said, "There is nothing here. We're going to blow up air mattresses and sleep on those."

"We have some floor in the living room, wood floor in the bedroom that has to be pulled up, but we're not doing that until we can afford to put new floors down," she said.

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