Summary
On Saturday March 22nd
a devastating landslide killed three people, critically injured another three,
and left 18 unaccounted for. It cut off Darrington, a town of about 1,350
people located 75 miles northeast of Seattle and within close proximity to
Round Mountain, Whitehore Mountain, and White Chuck Mountain. Part of the
Stillaguamish River also was blocked. The first reports of the landslide came
in around 10:45 a.m. along State Road 530 and prompted an evacuation notice for
fear of a potentially “catastrophic flood event.” At least six houses were
completely destroyed and they are still trying to find exactly how many
structures have been affected. The Snohomish sheriff warned people to stay
clear of trestles or bridges or anywhere near the Stillaguamish River
downstream of the slide. “Water could break through at any moment,” the
Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office tweeted.
Analysis
Landslides are probably one
of the least predictable natural disasters because they can come out of
nowhere. Living in Dallas Texas I wouldn’t typically have to worry about a
landslide occurring simply because the terrain is very flat. But if I lived
somewhere where there were mountains then landslides would become a more imminent
problem. The major issue with this type of natural disaster is that its
occurrence can create other immediate problems; like in this case there is the
possibility of catastrophic flooding. I send my condolences to the families who
have lost loved ones in the landslide and I hope they will quickly solve the
issue before any more damage can be done.
Here is the link to my
article:
This is so sad. It's hard to imagine such a terrible thing happening in the US, since we often hear of land slides happening in places like Asia, but rarely here in our home country.
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