Crews demolish Bellevue home partially destroyed by landslide

BELLEVUE, Wash. — The owners of a Bellevue home partially destroyed by a landslide last month watched crews demolish their home Saturday.

It was an emotional experience for the Surdi family.

A KIRO 7 crew captured the moment demolition crews knocked down what was left of the severely damaged home.

“Pretty awful. I was watching my wife because she doesn’t emotionally let things out visibly, and I saw her starting to go down. She passed out up there,” said John Surdi.

The Surdis lived in their home for more than two decades, and now it is gone, leaving John Surdi to process it all.

“It was pretty traumatic for us. Twenty-two years in that house. Four children. A lot of things have happened in that house that people aren’t aware of,” said Surdi.

It has been a difficult month for the Surdis as the home slid off its foundation in January. There still has been no clear answer on what triggered the water main break or the landslide that hit their Somerset neighborhood.

Not long after the landslide, the city of Bellevue had filed a lawsuit against the Surdis to speed up the demolition of their home.

That lawsuit was eventually dropped after the city and the Surdis reached an agreement, allowing a contractor to salvage what was salvageable. However, it has not been much.

“I did find my daughter’s doll from when she was a little girl. Her name was Momo. And she’s back to her mother today. That’s one really good part of today. My daughter has — (my) grandson is 2 years (old), and that’s his doll now,” Surdi said.

KIRO 7 was able to obtain more video that showed another angle of the demolition.

It is expected to take weeks to clean up the debris as five other homes located in the cul-de-sac are still red-tagged due to the landslide and water main break.

“I’m more concerned now with all this debris as it comes down the hill, or what happens if a bin tips over or a truck tips over on this hill,” said neighbor Jeff Atkin.

However, the Surdis have a lot more to think about, as uncertainty for them extends beyond the hillside. “We don’t know what we’re going to do now,” John Surdi said.

The city of Bellevue said it could take months to figure out what caused the landslide.

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