Snohomish County landslide

‘So many people yelling for help’

Survivors and rescuers tell their stories of that tragic day

Marcus Yam / The Seattle Times

MARCH 29, 2014: Rescue workers dig through a pile of debris to look for victims along Highway 530. A week earlier, on March 22, a massive landslide ripped through the area, killing 43 people and destroying dozens of homes. This story, which recounts that tragic day, is based on Seattle Times interviews with survivors, rescuers and friends and family of the dead. It includes photos, video and emergency-dispatch audio.

Photo gallery

Resilience in slide’s wake

Interactive

Disaster loomed for decades

The victims

Remembering those killed

Before/After

An aerial view of the landslide

Times Watchdog

‘Unforeseen’ risk of slide? Warnings go back decades

Marcus Yam / The Seattle Times

MARCH 24, 2014: While a Snohomish County official said the area hit by the mudslide "was considered very safe," the hillside's history of slides dates back more than 70 years. Above is a view of the mudslide along Highway 530, which sent a huge chunk of the hill into the Stillaguamish River.

Times Watchdog: Looking for Answers

June 7, 2014

Oso neighborhood never should have been built

The developer of Steelhead Haven failed to secure a required flood plain permit, avoiding a process that would have warned of the dangers of building there.

County’s own 2010 report called area dangerous3/25

State allowed logging on plateau above slope3/25

Logging approved in ’04 may have exceeded boundary3/26

State used outdated data to allow logging3/30

Worried about deaths, county weighed buying out homes4/2

State lands chief breaks vow, takes timber-industry cash 4/14

Log wall at base of hill required repeated repairs 4/23

County mudslide warnings failed to reach hill’s residents4/26

Days after slide, state firefighters panel worried about ‘fractured’ response4/27

Feds keep campground open despite slide risk5/8

Officials decide to keep popular campground closed5/13

Earlier slides set the stage for Oso disaster7/22

About the victims and survivors

March 2014

Interactive map: the neighborhood that was hit

See where people affected by the slide lived and which addresses were hit by the disaster.

New homeowner planned busy day with 3 workmen3/24

Young couple planned wedding by river3/27

15 minutes: the difference between life and death?3/27

Three generations of a family, lost in minutes3/28

Couple built dream house along river3/31

Man who lost wife, son passes on donations to others4/2

Slide survivor: ‘I did not let that baby go for one second’4/9

Sailors taken by slide remembered at Navy services4/25

Last victim’s remains found in deep pocket of debris7/22

Family who lost cherished cabin finds solace in song8/10

Effort to match survivors with their treasures was ‘about helping heal’10/2

10 families of victims sue state, county, forest landowner10/27

Profiles of the victims of the slideFrequently updated

The science of the slide

March 27, 2014

Laser maps reveal slide risk with startling clarity

People who lived near the hillside could see with their own eyes that it had slid before. But it takes a high-tech type of vision to fully grasp the danger.

Monitoring can warn of impending slides — at a cost4/3

Expert baffled by ferocity, distance of slide4/8

Will tragedy revive stalled national landslide program?4/28

Scientists to visit Oso, but no funds yet for in-depth work5/17

Video shows chunks of dirt tumbling from Oso slide7/7

Vicious cycle: Earlier slides set the stage for Oso disaster7/22

Guest opinion: How to avert the next Oso landslide9/18

State adopts new guidelines to help spot landslide risks11/12

DNR requests budget boost, in part for landslide mapping11/15

Report lays out steps for preventing future disasters12/15

Updates on search efforts were regularly posted in The Today File.

See all coverage from the slide and its aftermath →