Responders face toxic challenge as death toll climbs in Wash. mudslide

Rescue teams struggling to wade through thick mud up to their armpits amid heavy downpours at the site of a devastating landslide in Washington state are facing yet another challenge — an unseen and potentially dangerous stew of toxic contaminants.

Sewage, propane, household solvents and other chemicals lie beneath the surface of the gray mud and rubble that engulfed hundreds of acres of a small, rural community and left dozens dead and missing northeast of Seattle on the morning of March 22.

The official death toll climbed to at least 24 on Monday, with the number of missing revised downward to 22, from 30, nine days after a rain-soaked hillside collapsed above the north fork of the Stillaguamish River. Estimated financial losses from the mudslide have reached $10 million, Gov. Jay Inslee said Monday in a letter asking the federal government for a major disaster declaration.

The torrent of mud released by the landslide roared over both stream banks and across state Highway 530, flattening dozens of homes on the outskirts of the town of Oso in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.

Snohomish County officials planned to present their next update on the status of the recovery operations at 11 a.m. local time on Monday.

Managers of the recovery operation were taking special measures to protect the hundreds of workers on the scene from chemical exposure and to prevent toxic sludge from being carried offsite.

"We're worried about dysentery, we're worried about tetanus, we're worried about contamination," local fire Lt. Richard Burke, a spokesman for the operation, told reporters visiting the disaster site on Sunday. "The last thing we want to do is take any of these contaminants out of here and take them into town, back to our families."

Marla Skaglund, an Oso resident, told Al Jazeera that the threat of exposure to toxic contaminants has been ongoing.

“The hazmat (hazzardous materials) team has been here since the beginning,” she said. “The men have been using duct tape to tape their pants to their boots so everything is closed when they go in.”

Skaglund’s home is located next door to a house that was destroyed in the mudslide. She was home when the disaster hit and just yards away from being caught in the dangerous rush of mud and debris.

“It sounded like a big gust of wind, and I saw the power lines and poles across the road moving but the trees weren’t moving,” Skaglund said. “The lights went out and I thought someone had hit the pole. Then I walked outside and looked up the road, I saw all the debris and my aunt and uncle’s [old] house was just gone.”

Skaglund made the 9-11 call to alert authorities, and her home has become “grand central station” since the relief effort began.

Local residents haven’t had time to grieve, Skaglund said, they’ve been too busy working on the relief effort. Several benefits have been organized around the state to raise money for survivors.

Jason Biermann, program manager for the Snohomish County Emergency Management Department, said late on Sunday that the official loss of life so far included 15 victims whose remains have been identified by medical examiners and six more still awaiting positive identification.

He said four additional sets of remains were found on Sunday that for reasons not explained to reporters were being left out of the official tally of dead.

Authorities have offered conflicting casualty figures, and the process of accounting for the total number of victims has likely been complicated by the condition of some bodies that rescue workers have said are not always found intact.

They have in recent days reported locating a number of bodies that have not been included in the official death toll, previous to the four reported on Sunday, but have not provided further updates on the status of those remains.

No one has been pulled out alive and no signs of life have been detected since the day the landslide hit, when at least eight people were injured but survived.

Officials have conceded it may be impossible to account for everyone lost in the disaster, and that some victims might end up being permanently entombed under the mound of muck and debris, which county authorities say covers 1 square mile.

Inslee said in a press release Monday that he has asked President Barack Obama to make assistance programs available to those affected by the mudslide.

Among the programs are disaster grants to help individuals afford disaster-related expenses not covered by home insurance.

Skaglund told Al Jazeera that one of the biggest concerns for affected residents is that typical homeowners insurance does not cover landslides — and many people had mortgages that they would be forced to continue paying even though their houses were destroyed.

Inslee referred questions about insurance coverage to the website of the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner, which states that homes are only insured for landslide, flood and earthquake damage if separate insurance policies covering those disasters are purchased.

"Your typical homeowner policy will not cover damage caused by land movement or a landslide due to: rain runoff, snow melt, flooding or earthquakes," the website said.

Al Jazeera and wire services. Renee Lewis contributed to this report.