41 Confirmed Deaths in Mudslide

USPA NEWS - Since the slide occurred on March 22nd, there has been 41 confirmed deaths with two still missing. All 41 individuals have been identified that were sent to the county examiner. The slide leveled at least 35 houses and 14 other homes and dammed the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River.

The threat of flooding downriver from the dammed river never really occurred. The water found its way through the damaged areas and had started to cut a new river path. The water is still muddy from that slide as it joins the South Fork on its way to the Puget Sound. The slide area covers about a square mile of area and had covered large parts of the main highway leading to Darrington and the Cascade Foothills.

Snohomish County has created a Facebook page to organize community mudslide efforts. The page can be found here: www.facebook.com/530sliderelief. President Obama made a stop at Oso exactly one month after the slide occurred. "I just wanted to let you know that the country is thinking about all of you, and have throughout this tragedy," the President said. "We're not going anywhere. We'll be here as long as it takes." Highway 530 still remains impassable, but with the standing water now drained into the river channel, more equipment can be used to clear the mud and debris to open the main river channel once again.