GAINESVILLE - Tamie Debono's father has owned a strip of property close to the county courthouse since the age of 20 and he's now 80 years old.

"This has been 60 years of his life and it's literally going down the tubes," Debono said.

Her father's property is closed as it's sitting on top of a sinkhole created in the aftermath of tropical storm Debby. But that's not the only sinkhole in town.

Brent Whitman, the city's Public Works Director, says they've hired a geo-technical firm of engineers to evaluate every sinkhole in Live Oak.

"It's affecting everybody now, and that's what we're trying to do, do everything we can to fix it properly and as quick as possible," Whitman said.

Live Oak has 10 possible sinkhole sites.

The geo-technical firm has investigated six.  

Five of those were confirmed to be sinkholes.

After all the sinkholes are identified, Whitman says a proper design on how to fix each one will be developed. The city will work with FEMA to get reimbursed on the cost.

Geologists say that if a sinkhole is not taken care of it will continue to grow. They think it's common for sinkholes to open up when there's high water; so in the occasion of another big storm like Debby, Live Oak may be in danger until the sinkholes are fixed.

Debono tells TV 20 her family's lost something meaningful but they're trying to cope through it all as best as possible.

"We're kind of just working through it, day by day," Debono said.  "Of course he would like to be able to repair the buildings if that's possible, he would rather not demolish the buildings."