3/24/2014 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ‘ SQUARE MILE OF DEVASTATION’ 2Eight dead, 18 missing, in mudslide near Seattle ARLINGTON, Wash. — Authorities say the death toll from a huge landslide northeast of Seattle has doubled to eight. MARCUS YAM/ THE SEATTLE TIMES An entire hillside collapsed onto a river, residential area and a highway northeast of Seattle Saturday, killing at least eight people and leaving 18 missing. Neighbours comfort each other at the command post at the Oso Fire Department as people await word on the fate of their homes and loved ones. Below, debris including parts of houses, block State Route 530, east of Arlington, Wash. Snohomish County sheriff’s Lt. Rob Palmer said four more bodies were discovered late Sunday. Earlier on Sunday, authorities said one body had been found on the debris field. Three people had been confirmed dead on Saturday. The mudslide that struck Saturday morning about 90 kilometres northeast of Seattle critically injured several people and destroyed about 30 homes. At least 18 people remained missing, though authorities warned that number was “fluid.” Crews were able to get into the area Sunday after experts few over in a helicopter and determined it was safe enough for emergency responders and technical rescue personnel to search for possible survivors, said Travis Hots, fire chief for Snohomish County’s District 21. “We didn’t see or hear any signs of life out there today,” he said. Despite that, Hots said crews were still in a “search and rescue mode. It has not gone to a recovery mode at this time.” Rescuers’ hopes of finding more survivors had been buoyed late Saturday when they heard people yelling for help from within the debris field, but they were unable to reach anyone. The mud was so thick and deep that searchers had to turn back. “We have this huge square- mile mudflow that’s basically like quicksand, it’s extremely fluid,” Hots said. The slide wiped through what neighbours described as a former fishing village of small homes — some nearly 100 years old. The neighbourhood “is not there anymore,” Hots said. Some of the missing may have been able to get out on their own, authorities said. The number unaccounted for could change because some officials are still working to figure out how many people were at home when the slide hit, Hots said. Officials described the mudslide as “a big wall of mud and debris.” It was reported about 20 metres deep in some areas. Authorities believe the slide was caused by ground made unstable by recent heavy rainfall. The slide blocked the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River. With the water rising rapidly behind the debris, authorities worried about downstream flooding and issued an evacuation notice Saturday. The water had begun to seep through the blockage Sunday afternoon. John Pennington, director of Snohomish County Emergency Management Department, said there were concerns that the water could break through downstream, or back up and flood areas upstream. Shari Ireton, a spokeswoman for the Snohomish County sheriff’s office, said Sunday that a total of eight people were injured in the slide. A six- month- old boy and an 81- yearold man remained in critical condition Sunday morning at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg said two men, ages 37 and 58, were in serious condition, while a 25- year- old woman was upgraded to satisfactory condition. Bruce Blacker, who lives just west of the slide, doesn’t know the whereabouts of six neighbours. “It’s a very close knit community,” Blacker said as he waited at an Arlington roadblock before troopers let him through. There were almost 20 homes in the neighbourhood that was
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 22:55:21 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015