BELLEVUE, Wash. — John and Barb Surdi have lived in their home for more than 30 years. Now they're trying to process how to move forward after a landslide and water main break sent their house crashing down.
“You ever have a dream, and you think, ‘When I wake up, this will all go away?’ I still feel like I haven’t woken up,” said John.
John was woken up to what he described as a river rushing down his driveway. He got up and got into his truck to try and find the source of the water.
He was a few blocks away when he got a call from his neighbor that sent his world crashing down.
“One of our neighbors called me and said, ‘John are you OK?’ And I’m like, 'Yeah, what’s going on?' He said, ‘Your house just fell down.’ And I just thought, 'Is this April Fools? How can this be happening?'" explained John.
The collapse at the house located on the 5000 block of 139th Place SE, southwest of Eastgate Park, was first reported around 5:20 a.m. Monday.
John’s wife Barb was asleep in their bed on the top floor of the home when she heard a boom.
“I flew out of the bed, and the dresser, the bed, everything, I guess the house collapsed,” said Barb.
She was thrown against the wall from the force of their home crumbling below her.
Meanwhile, John knew his wife and their golden retriever, Marty, were trapped inside.
“It was like going up a mountain with a river running down the side," recalled John. "There were boulders everywhere and rocks and trees. I got up to our cul-de-sac and was screaming, ‘Barb, Barb.’ And she was inside, and she was screaming."
John climbed through a hole in the side of the house and found his wife and dog stuck on the top floor with nowhere to go.
“We’re on the top floor, and we can’t get down because there wasn’t any staircase,” said Barb.
With the aid of Bellevue police, Barb and Marty were able to get off the top floor and out of the house to safety.
“We’re lucky to be alive, that is for sure,” said Barb.
While physically all right, the Surdi’s are now navigating how to move forward after losing everything.
“It’s not the house, it’s everything that’s in it," explained John. "It’s the memories. Everything’s in it, and they won’t let us back in. I need to get back into our house."
John is worried about his business as well. He owns a carpet cleaning company, and his trucks and supplies were at the home when it collapsed.
“My two trucks, if you look at the video, they look like they’re totaled in the driveway," John told KING 5. "One sticking between the house and the other truck in the house. I’m basically out of business right now."
A crowdfunding page has been set up to help the Surdi’s move forward.