Death toll in Washington mudslide rises

The official death toll from a mudslide that devastated a community in the Cascade Mountain foothills of Washington state last month rose to 41 on Monday, after search teams pulled two more bodies from the mud and rubble, county officials said.

A rain-soaked hillside collapsed above the north fork of the Stillaguamish River on March 22, unleashing a torrent of mud that clogged the river, swallowed up a stretch of a state highway and crushed some three dozen homes on the outskirts of Oso, a hamlet 55 miles northeast of Seattle.

Among the 41 people confirmed dead, 39 have been positively identified, Snohomish County officials said in a statement. A handful of people remain listed as missing.

Of the dead who have been identified, 22 are men and 17 are women. They range in age from 4-month-old Sanoah Huestis, who died along with her grandmother, Christina Jefferds, to 91-year-old Bonnie Gullikson, whose husband was among those who escaped the disaster with injuries.

All the victims died of multiple blunt force injuries, according to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office.

Rescue teams have found no signs of life in the mud pile since the day of the disaster.

The White House said President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet with the families of victims on Tuesday afternoon before leaving for a four-country tour of Asia.

Obama is due to deliver remarks after meeting with the families, emergency workers, and others involved in the recovery effort. The president signed an emergency declaration ordering U.S. government assistance to supplement state and local relief efforts in the aftermath of the mudslide and flooding.

Reuters