At Least 14 Dead in Washington State Mudslide

Alan Taylor
March 25, 2014
16 Photos
In Focus

Last Saturday, at 10:45 am, part of a hillside above Oso, Washington -- known by some locals as "Slide Hill" -- collapsed after weeks of heavy rain, sending a wall of mud and debris across a small valley of the Stillaguamish River. The neighborhood below the hillside was destroyed, and more than 100 properties damaged, resulting in at least 14 verified deaths -- a number that may grow larger, as the list of missing has grown to 176. Efforts to rescue victims have been slow, as the surrounding hills remain dangerously unstable and the affected area is so large. Rescue workers continued their search throughout last night.

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An aerial photo taken Monday, March 24, 2014, shows the massive mudslide that killed at least 14 people on Saturday and left dozens missing, near Oso, Washington. The search for survivors grew this week, raising fears that the death toll could climb far beyond the eight confirmed fatalities. #

AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

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The hillside which collapsed and produced a mudslide near Oso, Washington, in a March 23, 2014 handout photo from Governor Jay Inslee's office. #

Reuters/Gov. Jay Inslee's Office

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This March 23, 2014 photo shows a view of the damage from Saturday's mudslide. #

AP Photo/Washington State Dept of Transportation

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A landslide and structural debris blocks Highway 530 near Oso, Washington, on March 23, 2014. #

Reuters/Lindsey Wasson/Pool

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Search and rescue workers set up along a flooded portion of Highway 530 down the road from a massive landslide outside Darrington, Washington, on March 24, 2014. The confirmed death toll from a devastating weekend mudslide in Washington state climbed to 14 people on Monday as six more bodies were found, while scores of others remained listed as missing two days after the tragedy, authorities said. #

Reuters/Jason Redmond

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Officials survey a large mudslide near Oso, Washington, on March 22, 2014. #

Reuters/Washington State Police

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Eveleen Promise holds her son, Xaven, 7, and stands with her husband Patrick Belt, right, and Doug Massingale stands behind as they all wait for word of missing family members at the fire station in Oso, Washington, following a deadly mudslide two days earlier, on March 24, 2014. #

AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

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A view of the damage from Saturday's mudslide in Oso, Washington, on March 22, 2014. #

AP Photo/Washington State Dept of Transportation

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The hillside which collapsed and produced the mudslide, on March 23, 2014. #

Reuters/Gov. Jay Inslee's Office

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A comparison view of the mudslide in the Stillaguamish River valley, shown in an aerial photo on March 24, 2014 (top), and in a recent view, pre-mudslide, captured by Google Earth (bottom). #

AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, Google, Inc.

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Another view of the damage from Saturday's mudslide near Oso, on March 23, 2014. #

AP Photo/Washington State Dept of Transportation

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Flooding of the Stillaguamish River above the mudslide. #

Handout, Governor Jay Inslee's Office

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A Civil Air Patrol plane flies over the massive mudslide on March 24, 2014, near Arlington, Washington. #

AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

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Brenda Neal inspects aerial photos of a massive landslide for any signs of her missing husband in Darrington, Washington, on March 24, 2014. #

Reuters/Jason Redmond

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A house destroyed by the huge mudslide, on March 24, 2014. #

AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

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Rescue workers and a search dog head out to continue searching for missing people caught in the mudslide along Highway 530 near Darrington, Washington, on March 24, 2014. #

Reuters/Jason Redmond

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