On March 22, 2014 at around 10:45 am one of the deadliest mudslides in U.S. history, struck the rural town of Darrington, which is about 55 miles from Seattle. The slide cut off the city of Darrington and dammed up the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, causing the water to pool behind the dam. Not only have peoples lives been lost as well as some missing, a great majority of homes have been destroyed, and Most of the area is covered in debris and deadly household chemicals.
What started out as just a 3 person death has risen to eight time the amount of people lost. The number of confirm deaths rose from Twenty one to Twenty Four. Seventeen of the victims have been positively identified and authorities are working with forensic specialist to identify the rest. The number of people missing was lowered from Thirty to twenty two Monday afternoon. There are currently Three other bodies that haven been found but not identified, they were not include in the report.
There has been an estimated of Ten million dollars in financial loss in relation to the mudslide. As stated in a letter from governor Jay Inslee Nearly Seven million dollars were in structural loss and an estimated Three million in household contents, he is currently requesting the National government to declare this a major disaster. Not to mention the many lives that were lost that have no price tags and can not be simply paid out. Emergency crews are currently facing Toxic challenges with propane, sewage, household solvents, and other toxic chemicals and the non stop rains are not making it easier to clean up.