Washington Mudslide Leaves at Least 4 Dead

Washington Mudslide Leaves at Least 4 Dead

Debris 15 Feet Deep Hinders Search for Victims

An aerial view of what Washington Gov. Jay Inslee called the 'total devastation' of an area north of Seattle by a deadly mudslide.

 Washington State Department of Transportation/Reuters

ARLINGTON, Wash.—Treacherous conditions hampered the search Sunday for possible survivors of a rain-triggered mudslide that left at least four people dead, seven injured and 18 unaccounted for in a rural area north of Seattle.

There was “total devastation” over perhaps a square-mile area from the Saturday slide, Gov. Jay Insleesaid at a media briefing Sunday after surveying the damage from the air. The rural area had “literally not a vertical stick standing. Everything within that path has been leveled.”

Snohomish County Fire District 21/22 Chief Travis Hots said the number of those unaccounted for “is fluid.” At a late afternoon news conference he said the “road is buried a mile in this muck. There may be people buried in their cars.” Officials, Mr. Hots said, are “making calls. Figuring out exactly who is missing.”

Early Sunday search efforts were conducted by air because the ground was too dangerous to walk on. “It is a slurry,” said Mr. Inslee, adding that some rescuers had sunk up to their armpits and had to be pulled out by ropes. A spokeswoman for the Snohomish County sheriff’s department, said the “debris field” was estimated to be up to 15 feet deep.

Later, after geologists flew over the area in a helicopter and determined it was safe, emergency personnel reached the muddy debris field. “We didn’t see or hear any signs of life out there today,” Mr. Hots said, adding that crews were still in a “search and rescue mode.”

News reports said as many as 30 homes were hit by the slide. “At least six structures have been confirmed to have been destroyed, but that number is expected to rise,” Snohomish County officials said Sunday in a statement.

The slide, which occurred near the small town of Oso about 55 miles north of Seattle, blocked a portion of a state highway and created a dam across the north fork of the Stillaguamish River. The sheriff’s spokeswoman said the dam is causing the river, which flows into Puget Sound, to back up and rise at the rate of about 10 inches to 12 inches an hour.

Mr. Inslee, at his press briefing, said water from the river backup behind the dam “has inundated some homes and barns.”

Authorities said there also have been concerns about possible downstream flooding if the dam should give way. However, Mr. Inslee said experts believe the situation is stable enough to lift an evacuation order on downstream communities. He asked residents to be prepared for any changes in the situation.

The sheriff’s spokeswoman said authorities weren’t yet releasing the identities of the four killed. At least seven survivors were taken to local hospitals and 28 people were at two rescue centers, she said.

The governor, who proclaimed a state of emergency for the county, said additional resources were available if needed. “All possible assets that could be beneficial anywhere have been brought to bear,” he said.

Mr. Hots said crews stopped searching at dusk and will resume at 6 a.m. on Monday. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for the area through Monday afternoon.