Three people were killed in a massive mudslide in Washington state yesterday, and rescuers were chasing voices of people thought to be trapped well into the dark, reports the Seattle Times. At least 18 people are now confirmed missing, adds CNN. The mudslide took out a highway near Oso, Wash., destroyed at least six homes, and partially blocked the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River—prompting worries about flooding. "We have people who are yelling for help and we are going to take extreme risks," said Snohomish County fire chief Travis Hots last night. "This is a massive slide, and we are in a very, very fluid and unstable situation. This is still a rescue mission."
One victim described "a wall of mud” about 25 feet high that hit out of the blue, and then "we were rolling. The house was in sticks. We were buried under things, and we dug ourselves out." The river was rising 10 to 12 inches every half-hour, according to an emergency management official, and state officials were moving to close bridges downstream. "A river has got a lot of energy in it. When you’ve got a plug, the pressure is going to build up and it’s going to blow," says a state DOT spokesman. The Weather Service deemed "catastrophic flooding" unlikely, notes the AP, but people were warned to evacuate anyway. (More mudslide stories.)
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