Wash. Police Rescue Couple, Dog after House Slips off Foundation

By Mike Reicher

Source The Seattle Times

Bellevue police rescued two people from a home that slid off its foundation early Monday morning, as water gushed down a hillside from a broken water main.

Police received a call of flooding around 4 a.m., and officers, along with fire crews, arrived to find a partially collapsed two-story home listing at a 45 degree angle, said Meeghan Black, a spokesperson for the Bellevue Police Department.

The home, in the 5000 block of 139th Place Southeast, appears to be the only one seriously damaged in the slide, Black said. About 40 people from 17 homes in the immediate vicinity were evacuated. They took shelter in friends' or relatives' homes, or at the South Bellevue Community Center.

Utility crews shut off water and gas service in the area Monday, as authorities have also received complaints of minor gas leaks. Natural gas could be smelled around the site of the collapse around 8:30 a.m., Black said.

Two adults and their dog were pulled from the large two-story home. When officers arrived, a man on the first floor was attempting to help his wife and dog downstairs after the entire stairwell was ripped from the wall, Black said. They were unharmed.

"This is pretty devastating," Black said. "We're very, very fortunate that no one was injured in this incident."

It remained unclear Monday afternoon whether the saturated hillside caused the house to shift, or if the slide was due to the broken water main, Black said.

Dana Felton, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle, said the risk of natural landslides caused by rain was relatively low Monday.

"Because we've had a few dry days, we're not in an elevated risk at this point," he said.

The Bellevue police and fire departments were continuing to survey other homes in the area for damage Monday afternoon, along with a team from the Washington Department of Natural Resources.

Soil engineers on scene have decreased the area of concern "considerably," Black said at 1:30 p.m. An update was expected at 3 p.m., including whether some residents will be allowed to return.

Crews were also clearing roadways and storm drains to provide an outlet for the gushing water.

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