Washington mudslide death toll expected to rise sharply, officials say

The death toll from the Washington state landslide is expected to rise sharply, officials said late Thursday, even as rescue teams continued to claw through the moon-like surface left by the massive disaster that crushed homes near the tiny town of Oso on Saturday.

Searchers said they were clinging to hope that they might find those still missing, and people in the close-knit community were tensely praying for a miracle. But as yet another night fell, rescuers acknowledged their search might prove futile amid the extremely rough conditions on the ground.

"If you could imagine houses, trees and a bunch of mud put in a blender and run through a bit and dumped back on the ground, that’s what it is,” said Washington National Guard Capt. Brad Sanders.

If the death toll increases from the current 25, the mudslide could enter the ranks of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history. Ninety people are listed as missing.

A wet forecast dimmed prospects further on the sixth day of searching, after the rain-soaked mountainside gave way on Saturday morning. The slide cascaded over a river and a road into homes, blanketing about a square mile in muck and debris.

"We know and most of us, I think, are accepting that many of our people are not going to make it," Megan Fanning, 41, said at the prayer vigil in Darrington, not far from Oso.

"But please, we need a miracle. Just one. One little miracle would be wonderful," she said. The community college student said the son of a close friend, 14-year-old Denver Harris, remained among the missing.

Late Wednesday rescue crews found another body, raising the death toll by one to 25.

Only the first 16 victims recovered and examined by coroners have so far been officially counted as dead, although local fire district chief Travis Hots said that figure would soon spike upward. Nine more bodies that have since been found have yet to be added to the official toll.

"In the next 24 to 48 hours, as the medical examiner's office catches up with the difficult work that they have to do, you're going to see these numbers increase substantially," he said.

The tally is pushing the Oso mudslide into the ranks of recent major disasters of its kind, said Josef Dufek, a professor at Georgia Institute of Technology who studies natural cataclysms. He pointed to the 1980 eruption of Washington state’s Mount St. Helens, which killed 57 people, and a 1969 landslide in Nelson County, Va., which killed 150 people.

Emergency crews have used dogs, small cameras and sophisticated listening devices in the hunt for possible survivors or buried bodies, as other workers removed debris by hand.

The deeply traumatized people of the area have rallied to comfort the bereaved and to support rescue crews.

Stores in nearby Arlington put up hand-painted signs calling for solidarity and donations. Boy Scouts collected food outside a market, and a bowling league offered tournament prize money to relief efforts.

"This is a very strong community. ... We all stick together," said 25-year-old Jamie Olsen as her husband and about 40 people in Darrington sorted water, food, diapers and other supplies for families forced out of their homes.

Construction worker Steve Findley cooked breakfast for dozens of residents inside an Arlington middle school that the American Red Cross had transformed into a temporary shelter.

"All the people I know are gone," he said.

The sheer volume of mud and debris has been making rescue efforts seem nearly impossible.

Bob DeYoung, an area resident who spoke with Al Jazeera America correspondant Michael Okwu, said the mud was as deep as 50 feet in some places.

"You find the one solid spot, where there’s enough debris and timber to stand on," he said. 

DeYoung said the work was both physically and emotionally traumatic.

“I’ve seen a lot of death but I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said. “It’s very emotional. You have family members standing with you while you’re doing the digging. ... Where the houses concentrate, it’s like they were pushed together.  One minute you’re looking at a little kid’s belongings, the next you’re looking through a window at an old lady’s shoes.”

As rescue workers on the ground kept digging, President Barack Obama signed an emergency declaration ordering U.S. government assistance to supplement state and local relief efforts. A local disaster relief account had nearly $50,000 in it by Thursday.

Authorities have trimmed the list of the missing from about 176 people to 90, and said the victims could also include people from outside the community about 55 miles northeast of Seattle, such as construction workers or passing motorists.

Eight more people survived the slide but were injured, including a 22-week-old baby rescued with his mother. The baby was listed in critical condition but was improving. The mother and three other survivors also remained hospitalized.

Asked whether he expected the death toll to rise significantly, Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee told CNN: "Yes, I don't think anyone can reach any other conclusion."

Jan McClelland, a volunteer firefighter from Darrington who was among the first to arrive at the scene, conceded it was possible that some bodies may end up forever entombed at the site.

"I'm fearful we won't find everyone," she said. "That's the reality of it."

Al Jazeera and wire services