Washington landslide kills 8, leaves 18 missing (Updated)

[Mrs. Overall]

Source: KOMO News

ARLINGTON, Wash. (AP) - Searchers found more bodies Sunday in the tangled sludge of a massive landslide in rural Washington state, bringing the death toll to at least eight from the wall of debris that swept through a small riverside neighborhood.

At least 18 people remained missing, though authorities warned that number could grow. Late Saturday, rescuers could hear cries for help, but a day later, they heard nothing.

The 1-square-mile mudslide that struck Saturday morning also critically injured several people and destroyed about 30 homes.

Crews were able to get to the muddy, tree-strewn area after geologists flew over in a helicopter and determined it was safe enough for emergency responders and technical rescue personnel to search for possible survivors, Snohomish County Fire District 21 Chief Travis Hots said Sunday evening. They found the body buried in the mud.


Read more: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Washington-slide-kills-3-searchers-seek-survivors-251780401.html

[gopiscrap]

1. This is not far from where I live

I have been through there many times and know lots of folks in Snohomish County. My heart and prayers go out to them.

[Cleita]

2. Awful...

My thoughts are for the people affected by this. I hope our government comes through with the help they are going to need.

[progressoid]

3. Photos here:

http://www.thestate.com/2014/03/23/3343234/washington-slide-kills-3-searchers.html

[revolutionbrees]

9. The house with the blue roof was for sale

My friend's son and his fiancée had just looked at the house 30 minutes prior to the slide.

[ErikJ]

4. Massive clearcutting to blame?

Maps showing clearcut just above slide. http://williamahuston.blogspot.com/2014/03/clearcutting-impicated-in-oso.html

[countryjake]

6. March rainfall so far is more than 11 inches...

plus, that same area had a smaller slide back in 2006, so the hill was already unstable. The DNR and other experts, geologists, are claiming that erosion had caused the base of the slide to weaken. (heaven forbid that anyone would ever actually mention the word clearcutting in the same sentence as "erosion".) But we have had buckets of rain dumped on us for the past month...the National Weather Service says we're up to 200% the normal rainfall here in the last 45 days.

While I haven't a doubt that the clear cuts are what ultimately caused the heavy runoff to overwhelm that bluff, the fellow at your link is wrong about the "area of collapse"...he needs to move his indicator about a mile and a half upriver, to the loop called Steelhead Drive...the gash from the original movement in 2006 is clearly visible above all of those houses on that little road at google maps, but that guy isn't even showing the area at all, on his page.

[Hekate]

5. Terrible. Looks like what happened at La Conchita, CA in 2005

In the case of La Conchita, a tiny seaside community, it turns out that landslides have been recurring there for thousands of years (a geologically frequent event, as one article says) and human activity (avocado and citrus orchards at the top of the bluff, a railroad cutout between the village and the ocean) was not necessarily to blame. There was a huge amount of rainfall in the days beforehand.

God, I am so sorry for those people in Washington. I hope they get all the help they need.

[Mrs. Overall]

7. UPDATE: 108 people now listed as missing.

This is beyond terrible.

Here is a link to local news update as of this morning:

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/No-signs-of-life-after-huge-landslide-near-Oso-251927321.html

[countryjake]

8. This is just so awful, the names keep being added...

as relatives find out what happened to Steelhead Drive and add their loved ones' pictures to the list. Many people that I know up here hadn't even heard about the landslide til late this weekend.

There's an emergency/breaking news page online for my county and as of last night, there were 36 pictures with desperate pleas...I haven't even looked there yet today, but I just heard on KING 5 News as the fire chief said that the situation is very grim...possibly many many more victims than was first reported and they are losing hope that anyone has survived. The mud slurry is still very dangerous as the river is now cutting a new channel thru the slide and rescue crews have been forced to move back several times from that shifting debris.

Another news conference is breaking right now, with the latest info. No new victims were found last night or this morning...death toll still at eight. Hovercraft, sonar, cadaver dogs are on the scene, but crews were forced to pull back due to instability, dangerous conditions.

I'm in the next county north of Snohomish Co, and many folk who live up here in the Cascade foothills use Rt 530, as roads are scarce.

[Sunlei]

10. They found the missing teachers dog, a lab in her home. He came out covered with

silt-like muck, able to walk. They haven't found her. Wish there was a way to somehow go to those 'cries for help' soon as the slide happened. People can't survive for long caught in that muck, it's like quicksand.

I read in 2006 there was another slide in the same area. They said that areas will slide again. People were told not to build in that area, but they did anyway. No wonder the land is so cheap in that county.

[Bigmack]

11. This AM, Tues., they're talking about

176 names of missing folks! Some could be duplicates, but VERY sad. Ms Bigmack