Waves wash man's rental home into Puget Sound
»Play Video
WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash. - A man on Whidbey Island is trying to pick up the pieces after part of his rental home was washed away into Puget Sound.
Alex Thierry went to work Monday and got a call a few hours later that waves were crashing into his home. He suspects the high tide, combined with strong winds, pushed the water right through the walls.
"I'm pretty sure a log, or a rock or something came in, broke one of the windows, and the hole just got bigger and bigger as the water rushed out," he says. "Something like this I couldn't imagine ever happening to me."
Thierry says he lost almost all of his possessions to the rising water. He's staying with a friend until he can find another place to live.
Alex Thierry went to work Monday and got a call a few hours later that waves were crashing into his home. He suspects the high tide, combined with strong winds, pushed the water right through the walls.
"I'm pretty sure a log, or a rock or something came in, broke one of the windows, and the hole just got bigger and bigger as the water rushed out," he says. "Something like this I couldn't imagine ever happening to me."
Thierry says he lost almost all of his possessions to the rising water. He's staying with a friend until he can find another place to live.
I use to live in this house.........it is by far my favorite place I've ever lived. I've seen the waves come over the seawall in some pretty bad storms but would not have expected it to be so bad that it would be washed away.
hmmm how old is the warning not to build your house on sand? OH but it's so pretty to watch the waves from my couch.Â
Hmm... you live near the water and why the water took your house. What's the big mystery here? No sympathy for the people who did not do their homework on their surroundings before buying/renting/whatever.
Hope he had renters insurance....
It's just stuff, you have your life. This was nature way of saying you need a change.Â
These are simple little cottages or ramblers which I'm sure people built knowing this could happen one day. Why not build something simple and play the odds. It lasted this long. Now if you build a McMansion on the waters edge then let loose on the comments that they should have known better. Just like the Crescent Bar and Manson developments that build on Indian land or land they don't have rights to. Build something to enjoy for the time you'll have it. It's not like you're going to pick up your house and move it. Consider it gone, just like this house.
Being a renter I carry renters insurance. The owner of the home may have their own insurance but it only covers the land and building, nothing inside especially if it is not theirs. I hope this guy can get back on his feet very soon. Thank you to the person that put in the donate info. I'd like to help him as well.
 @swansong68 I don't believe that this would be covered in a Renter Policy UNLESS he also had flood insurance. I found out the hard way ( a hidden leaking pipe that damaged condo next to us, arrggh) that water damage generally is not covered.
@Getov Mylon You are correct. The flood insurance is extra. I don't carry it because I live on a hill far from the water and any possible flooding, but I did have coverage when the pipes burst. I guess it's just a policy difference.
I hope he had renters insurance
How awful! I wish Komo would have included a way to help. Also, writing rental home instead of home he rents is a big difference in the accuracy of the story.
 @nomad If you'd like to help Alex out, contact the Crafter's Co-op in Oak Harbor.  They are collecting donations for him.http://www.facebook.com/whidbeycrafts
I hope the landlord has some compassion for their renter, and can help replace a few things.
 @barkingmad I'm a landlord and if something similar happened to my house I would put the renter in a hotel for a short time, but other than that I'd have plenty of my own concerns to deal with. Not all landlords are rich and having compassion doesn't = having the funds to replace items lost in an unforeseeable disaster.Â
Â
Hopefully the homeowner doesn't rely on rental income to cover the mortgage.Â
 @barkingmadÂ
Owner going to have enough fiscal issues of his own...
Wow, the a**holes are up early today.Â
not sure i understand the story - his rental home ? meaning he owns it but rents it out but was living there himself instead ? or since he is staying with a friend until he finds a new place to live was he 'renting' from someone else who owns the home.
 @justme he was renting from someone that owns the home.Â
I'd like own a rental home too.
I wonder if the taxpayer will pay for this? He chose to build or buy there - the taxpayer did not.
@Hagar Say what? Where did you get any idea taxpayer money would be involved in this? Must be some stupid in the air today.
I'm guessing you are kind of a dummy.
 @Hagar Presumably the person who actually owns this home has insurance.  Also, this house has been there for decades, as have many others along this same stretch of beach.  A foolish location for homes?  Probably.  But that has never stopped people from wanting to build homes on the waterfront.  This happened during an exceptionally high tide combined with very strong winds. This young man lost everything but the clothes he was wearing and his car.  His coworkers and a few people in the community have managed to pull together a few hundred dollars to help him get back on his feet.  So in some sense I guess taxpayers are paying for it - out of the generosity of their own hearts.
Â
Perhaps instead of worrying about your precious tax dollars for once you could have a little compassion and  realize how fortunate he was that this didn't happen during the middle of the night when he was sleeping.
 @Anne  @Hagar I'm glad you do acknowledge that tax dollars are indeed precious....but assume you're sarcastic indicating your tax and spend ideology
man stick a sock in it already
The foolish man built his house upon the sand! The wise man built his home upon the rock.
 @wynooheeman This guy was just renting. It was probably nice while it lasted! I drove up to Whidbey to buy a computer I saw in the classifieds (This was a long time ago!) on a summer evening, the guy that lived in one of these little beach houses, was out in his kayak. Man, what a life.
Here is a clue. Â Don't live next to the water or on the edge of a cliff, ect. Â I find it very hard to feel sorry for people who live in houses that are built in places like this.
 @FBrumfield It doesn't appear this guy owned the home; he was strictly a renter and since he was from out of state he would have no way to know what to expect from a NW winter.Â
Â
Living in this region comes with a certain degree of risk and none of us are safe from the prospect of losing eveything to a natural disaster. You might want to consider the fact that all of us are just one pine tree through the roof, flash flood, mudslide, or earthquake away from being in his shoes. Have some compassion.Â
 @FBrumfield No one is asking for pity, but one also asks before you make such judgments, you know the full story. This was my brother and it is still awful, why? Because my brother worked hard and graduated with multiple degrees to do the one thing he loves in life and that is to teach. He had to move to Washington because after over a year he could not find a teaching job for art anywhere in Missouri or the areas surrounding. Oak Harbor was his dream come true. Not only was he able to be a ceramics teacher, which is his passion, but he also stepped up to be a coach at the school. Unfortunately the job came at such short notice that when he found this house he took it, unaware of the tragedy that would come months later. Because of my brother, I know dreams are possible and it is sad that people out there have trouble understanding a situation such as this. My brother was finally independent and starting his life and the next minute, everything he worked for was taken from him. And for those confused, he was renting the home, he did not own it.Â
@Samantha Thierry - aaah! good to hear from you, someone who knows the story! Your brother sounds like a great guy! I'm sad he lost everything - but it is just 'stuff' even if it is nice stuff, as you know. I see donation place is setup, so hopefully everyone rallies around and helps out. Thanks for taking the time to tell us about your brother. :)
@Samantha Thierry @FBrumfield - - thank you for your honesty - especially geared towards 'judgments'!! - - I understand that this is a giving community so believe people will 'step up to the plate!
@Samantha Thierry @FBrumfield I know folks on Whidbey and it's a great community. I'm sure your brother will get some support.