Mudslides and is 3 times a charm?

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LovelyLadyLux
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Mudslides and is 3 times a charm?

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Don't know if you'll all remember a few months back when a bridge went out on Interstate 5 in the Mount Vernon area of Washington and I had just driven that bridge a couple of days earlier in the wee hours of the morning driving back to Canada.

Now in the same area - that I just drove through a couple days ago - there has been a HUGE mudslide. 8 confirmed deaths and 108 missing!!! That has covered over 1 mile of highway.

I know in this particular area of the state it has always been prone to flooding however this mudslide has been particularly devastating.

On a personal note this is the second time in the very recent past I've driven through this area and then had a major catastrophe happen within a couple days.


This is the URL to the article: http://news.msn.com/us/fears-rise-that- ... n-mudslide

Authorities predicted that the number of missing would decline as more people are found to be safe, but the startling initial length of the list added to the anxieties in this former fishing village two days after a mile-wide layer of soft earth crashed onto a cluster of homes at the bottom of a river valley.

No 'signs of life' after Washington landslide

"The situation is very grim," Snohomish County Fire District 21 Chief Travis Hots said, stressing that authorities are still in rescue mode and are holding out hope. But he noted: "We have not found anyone alive on this pile since Saturday."

About 30 houses were destroyed, and the debris blocked a mile-long stretch of state highway about 55 miles northeast of Seattle.

Adding to the worries was the timing of the mudslide, which struck Saturday morning, a time when most people are at home. Of the 49 structures in the neighborhood, authorities believe at least 25 were full-time residences.

Mudslide devastation 'unrelenting and awesome'

An overnight search of the debris field turned up no other fatalities, Hots said. Monday's search was to include aircraft, dogs and heavy equipment.

Retired firefighter Gail Moffett, who lives in nearby Oso, said she knows about 25 people who are missing, including entire families with young children.

"It's safe to say I'll know everyone affected or who they are," Moffett said. "There's so much pain going on in the community right now."

Elaine Young and her neighbors uncovered several bodies Sunday and had to contact authorities to get them removed.

They also found a chocolate Labrador named Buddy alive, and helped pull the dog from the rubble, leading her to wonder if other survivors could be out there, desperate for help.

"If we found a dog alive yesterday afternoon that we cut out of a part of a house, doesn't that seem that maybe somebody could be stuck up under part of a house and be alive too?" asked Young, whose home survived the slide but was on the edge of the devastation.

She said she realized searchers need to stay safe, but lamented the pace of rescue efforts.

Authorities believe Saturday's slide was caused by recent heavy rains that made the terrain unstable.

From the beginning, rescue crews on the ground have faced dangerous and unpredictable conditions as they navigated quicksand-like mud and debris that was 15 feet deep in some places. Some who went in got caught up to their armpits in the thick, sticky sludge.

The threat of potential flash floods or another landslide also loomed over rescuers. On Monday, some crews had to pull back because of concern that a hillside could shift.

Snohomish County Emergency Management Director John Pennington said the list of names included construction workers who were working in the area and people just driving by. But, he cautioned, it does not necessarily mean there are scores of additional fatalities.

"It's a soft 108," Pennington said, explaining that the number would almost certainly fall as people are slowly located.

The spirits of search-and-rescue teams were raised late Saturday when they heard cries for help from the flotsam of trees, dirt and shattered wood. But no one else has been found alive.

Three people were confirmed dead on Saturday. By late Sunday, the number of fatalities had risen to eight.

On Sunday, crews were able to get to the soupy, tree-strewn area after geologists flew over in a helicopter and determined it was safe to search for survivors, Hots said.

They did not search the entire debris field, only drier, safer areas, he added.

The slide blocked the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, which is continuing to back up, officials said. Authorities said Monday at least seven homes are now flooded, and more flooding is expected.


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Re: Mudslides and is 3 times a charm?

Post by Horus »

It has been well covered on the Uk TV news and it looked pretty bad :(
If I were you I would stay in bed for a couple of weeks, just to be on the safe side ;)
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Re: Mudslides and is 3 times a charm?

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

Yeah - as I'm passing between Canada and the USA I have to drive through this area. This is the second catastrophe in the past few months. Will be passing back mid-May and am sure hoping all will be well. I'm slowing down and checking the bridges out best I can when I cross them now just in case they're NOT there!

This really is a tragedy. The slide is about 1 sq mile - HUGE. Lots of rescue crews there. The searching is difficult and slow and the fatalities are going up (death toll at 14 now) :( :( Am definitely hoping all the missing will be accounted for.
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Re: Mudslides and is 3 times a charm?

Post by Jayway »

If I was you I would take the long way round instead of pushing my luck . . . :stp
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Re: Mudslides and is 3 times a charm?

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

I think the death toll as of this morning was 24. Terribly tragic and sad. Also something like 100 people still unaccounted for. Cold so always the concerns of hypothermia too. What has collapsed is also mud so they're having to use hover craft to get in close.

IF there was another way around I'd be using it - BUT - if the truth be told - the only 'other way' which is Hood Canal has a terribly winding road and an even longer history of road washouts. :( :( :(
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