Heads up in Washington State! Huge landslide Snohomish Co: Emergency Alert Evacuation Order

[icymist]

Latest numbers from Snohomish County, Wash., Sheriff on mudslide: 6 houses destroyed, 3 people dead, 8 people rescued - @HeatherGrafK5
see original on twitter.com
Washington, US
34m
Washington state mudslide victims in ICU: 6-month-old boy, 58-year-old man and man, 81, critical; 37-year-old man serious; 1 male no information - @LinziSheldon
see original on twitter.com
Arlington, WA, US
39m
Activating emergency alert message for folks in flood plain between Oso and Arlington, Wa., to evacuate; Stanwood still recommended #530slide - @snocounty
see original on twitter.com
Stanwood, WA, US
2h
County going house-to-house telling residents of the horse and cattle farms between Oso and Stanwood, Wash., to evacuate - @jsimon88
http://www.breakingnews.com/item/2014/03/23/snohomish-county-official-asked-about-number-of-e/

[longship]

1. R&K for visibility. nt

[uppityperson]

2. Whoah! Here are pictures and more links.

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2023201818_mudslidexml.html

At least three people died and nearly a dozen were injured Saturday when a wall of mud crashed into a half-dozen homes east of Arlington, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.

The mudslide sent tons of debris into the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, blocking the flow and causing the river to rise upstream. Fearing a potential for flooding, officials on Saturday afternoon urged residents living along the river to evacuate to high ground.

The warning was issued for the flood plain from Oso to Stanwood.....

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Massive-mudslide-blocks-road-destroys-home-near--251711901.html

3 dead, 8 hurt in massive SR 530 landslide near Oso

A massive landslide of mud, trees and rocks in rural Washington killed three people on Saturday, critically injured an infant and several others, and destroyed six houses, authorities said.

The slide blocked the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, which prompted an evacuation notice because water was rising rapidly behind the debris. Authorities worried about severe downstream flooding if water suddenly broke through the blockage.

The landslide also completely covered State Route 530 near the town of Oso, about 55 miles north of Seattle. It was at least 135 feet wide and 180 feet deep and hit just before 11 a.m., Snohomish County authorities said.

The Snohomish County sheriff's office reported that two people had been killed at the scene. Authorities said later tone of the people who was rescued died at a hospital....

[icymist]

4. Just found this picture showing where the river is blocked.

:large

[uppityperson]

6. That is a really good shot. Whew. And it isn't hugely steep there either

I wonder how long ago it was logged. We've a few curved trees around our place from the ground slowly moving, am glad live in the rain shadow. What a mess and scary and did I read someone is still missing?

[icymist]

7. Judging from the daylight I would say a couple of hours ago.

They're saying that the city of Arlington could be affected.

Editor's note: Snohomish County official, asked about number of evacuees in Washington mudslide area, responded "hard to say exact numbers. Anyone in the flood plain between Oso and Arlington city limits. Could be hundreds." - Tom
http://www.breakingnews.com/topic/snohomish-co-wash-mudslide/

[uppityperson]

8. Following down the oldest twitter was 11:05 AM so looks like it's been a long day there.

[icymist]

9. You're right. The oldest tweet looks to be 8 hours old.

I work nights so this looks like it happened just after I went to bed this afternoon! Tragic. I've lived out here for 22 years and this is the largest landslide I've seen yet. Scary!

[icymist]

3. Heard on KOMO radio that emergency crews have been ordered to evaucate

in fear of flash flooding of the Stillaguamish River. Anyone in the floodplain between Oso and Arlington should get to high ground.
http://www.komonews.com/radio/listen/

[uppityperson]

5. Those upstream got out 'cause river is rising, downstream leave for the night in case it bursts

It looks like a real mess.

[tavalon]

10. Wow, we live on the convergence zone, in King county, about 100 feet from Snohomish county.

We've had a very wet Feb/Mar and I look at the steep hill above me and knowing a geologist, I know it doesn't require rivers to start the land moving around here, just enough bad planning and a lot of water. I don't spend my days worrying that the apartments are going to slide out onto I405 but maybe I should.

After working on these very issues for years, he and his wife moved to Vashon island. I've never asked if the instability of the land around here had any bearing. I suspect it did.

[icymist]

11. One last kick for visibility. I'm off to work for the night.

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. tragic

[icymist]

13. 10 People unaccounted for in landslide

At least 10 people unaccounted for after landslide in Washington state that's already blamed for 3 deaths, governor says - @CNN
http://www.breakingnews.com/item/2014/03/23/at-least-10-people-unaccounted-for-after-landslide-2/

[malaise]

14. Real sad

[uppityperson]

15. 18 people unaccounted for in slide; voices heard, then gone

Rescuers say at least 18 people are missing in a massive mudslide that demolished two neighborhoods along the north fork of the Stillaguamish River and that the potential for a catastrophic flash flood remains high.

Three people were killed and at least eight others injured when a rain-soaked hillside above state Highway 530 near Oso gave way Saturday morning. Travis Hots, chief of Snohomish County Fire districts 21 and 22, said a square-mile of mud and debris slid across the road, blocked the river and demolished or damaged up to 30 homes.

(clip)
“We suspect there are people out there but it is far too dangerous to get the responders out to them,” Hots said during a media briefing outside the incident command center in Arlington. Hots described an incredibly dangerous situation for the more than 100 rescuers who are trying to access buried structures and debris. The mud is still moving and has the consistency of quicksand. He said the scene overnight was eerie with the sounds of breaking timber and moving debris in the dark.

Rescuers late Saturday failed to find voices they heard yelling from a buried structures, Hots said. By the time they were able to negotiate the shifting mud and debris and get to the area, the voices had gone quiet, he said.....

[uppityperson]

16. 1 rescuer found his own front door but not his home, wife or child. Slumber party missing

http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2014/03/when-the-slide-hit-the-river-it-was-like-a-tsunami/

One volunteer firefighter who stopped working around 11:30 last night said many tragic stories have yet to be told. He watched one rescuer find his own front door, but nothing else — not his home, his wife or his child.

They’re in the ”missing” category along with many they fear will eventually be listed as dead. At least 20 homes were wiped out, he said.

“It’s much worse than everyone’s been saying,” said the firefighter, who did not want to be named. “The slide is about a mile wide. Entire neighborhoods are just gone When the slide hit the river, it was like a tsunami.”

Among the missing are a group of girls who were having a slumber party, said Peter Selvig, a retired U.S. Forest Service volunteer at the station.

[icymist]

17. Mudslide Death Toll Rises to Four, at Least 18 Still Missing

Emergency crews were scouring Sunday for 18 people still unaccounted for in the wake of a mudslide officials said killed four people and injured eight others in Washington state — as fears were raised of more disastrous flooding.

The number of missing people in the square mile mudslide that washed over Snohomish County would be "fluid," said Snohomish County Fire Chief Travis Hots during a news conference Sunday.

Hots said emergency responders and rescue crews found “no signs of life” as they scoured the treacherous area Sunday.

The slide that occurred around 11 a.m. (2 ET) Saturday had turned land that spanned neighborhoods into "quicksand," Hots said earlier Sunday.


http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mudslide-death-toll-rises-four-least-18-still-missing-n59981

[rustydog]

18. Now the death toll is 8

Sad sad day

[icymist]

19. I can't imagine what those people went through.

A neighborhood of over thirty houses simply gone. People buried in a quick-sand type mud. KOMO news is starting to post photos of who is missing and who is safe on their facebook page in order to get an idea of how many there are. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=648989735169362&set=a.121893224545685.20775.114431401958534&type=1&theater

On edit: photos of thirty missing: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151935298680974&set=p.10151935298680974&type=1

[RobertEarl]

20. Trying to figure out the why

The hillside must have been a loose conglomerate of coarse sands and clay that held water. The weight increased the more water it held. There have been a lot or rains there recently, right?

Then it being in a flood plain meant that the toe - the part of the hill nearest the flat land - had been undercut at some point in time. The toe may have actually consisted of material that had slid off the side of the mountain at one time.

Being as I live amongst some mountains and do a bit of studying on how these were formed, and knowing the mountains there are about 4oo million years younger, it surprises me not that slides like this do occur.

Evidence of such slides does abound. If the reader lives under a cliff, it would pay to investigate the potential of a slide before it happens, eh?

Surely the geologists will be out and about doing studies in the area, but who knows, it may be hundreds of years before another such slide?

[icymist]

21. Rumor has it that there was an old stone quarry nearby.

If that has anything to do with this disaster, I don't know. It's tragic; I read that an entire slumber party was taken in this. It's getting late and I must be off for work tonight. I'll be back in the AM.

[countryjake]

22. Death toll is now up to ten, rescue crews have been pulled back.

Responder: At least 2 more dead in landslide; unofficial death toll 10

http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/agony-families-those-missing-mudslide/nfKDp/


Oso, Wash ~ A responder at the site of a massive landslide in Snohomish County told KIRO 7 at least two more people are dead, bringing the unofficial death toll to 10.

Authorities will hold an official news conference at 6:30 p.m. that can be watched on kirotv.com or KIRO TV.

The responder said he expected the death toll to rise significantly by Monday night. In addition, officials said Monday morning they have received 108 reports of individuals who may be missing or unaccounted for after Saturday's deadly slide.

Snohomish County Emergency Management Director John Pennington said that doesn't mean there are 108 injuries or fatalities, but it's the consolidated list of those reported missing from various sources that authorities are working from.

At least 124 pics of the mudslide here:

PHOTOS: Deadly mudslide in Snohomish County

http://www.kirotv.com/gallery/news/photos-mudslide-block-both-directions-roadway-near/gCJkZ/#4810252

[malaise]

23. National media is still missing on this story

This is a major disaster