MARCUS YAM / THE SEATTLE TIMES WASHED...

WASHED AWAYTHE OSO, WASHINGTON, MUDSLIDE

BY THE STAFF OF

M A R C U S Y A M / T H E S E A T T L E T I M E S

Best of the West Awards • Breaking News

Published online starting March 22, 2014 • In print starting March 23, 2014

To the judges of the Best of the West Awards:

The Steelhead Haven neighborhood was stirring to life when the hillside above it collapsed. It was 10:37

a.m., Saturday, March 22. Within 60 seconds, the neighborhood vanished, consumed by the thunderous

wall of earth that jumped the Stillaguamish River and tore through Steelhead Haven at 60 mph.

Some homes exploded. Others were ripped from their foundations only to be swallowed in a sea of

churning mud. It would be weeks before authorities could confirm that 43 men, women and

children had perished in one of the worst natural disasters in state history.

In the hours that followed, The Seattle Times broke story after story using our website and social

media. Seattletimes.com, Twitter feeds and our Facebook page gave the region, and other news

media, the most up-to-the-minute information available.

One reporter, an assistant metro editor and one news producer were in the newsroom that Saturday

when the state highway department sent a tweet at 11:15 a.m. saying a mudslide was blocking

Highway 530 in mountainous northwest Washington near the small town of Oso. We immediately re-

tweeted it to our readers and within 45 minutes posted our first story on seattletimes.com about the

landslide. The highway patrol told us at least one house was buried in the mudslide, more people might

be trapped, and rescue teams were on the way.

As the magnitude of this event became evident, reporters and photographers on their off-day mobilized.

Staffers began transmitting images, raw video, blog posts and tweets about the disaster area that later

would be called “the pile.” The volunteer first-responders were unable to say how many homes had been

swallowed up, or how many people were dead or missing. Cellphone service was spotty, making internal

communication difficult.

Despite all this, our original online story would be expanded and updated 12 times by 4:35 p.m. Among our exclusives: the first detailed account by a witness to the disaster, a man driving on the

highway when the mud wall hit; and the first account by a survivor from the buried neighborhood.

By mid-afternoon, the highway approaching the Oso slide area was blocked and authorities had

closed several miles of airspace over the disaster area. We had a photographer up in a helicopter, but

he was forced to shoot from three miles away in turbulent conditions. Afraid of heights, flying in a

tiny chopper with no doors, Seattle Times photographer Marcus Yam captured an aerial image that

helped the public and the world understand the gargantuan loss and the seeming hopelessness of the

search-and-rescue operation. The once idyllic neighborhood had been consumed by 10 million cubic

yards of debris.

As the story continued to unfold through the evening, our best reporting from all fronts was pulled

together into a cohesive narrative for the Sunday newspaper that included incredible tales of bravery and

survival, and photos and maps to help readers understand the magnitude of the disaster. By 9:35 p.m.

online, we published this comprehensive, well-written report, along with three other news stories, video

and photos. We are pleased to nominate this work for a Best of the West Award for breaking news.

Sincerely,

Kathy Best,

Editor

Oso mudslide coverage online

SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 Exhibit 1

The day’s coverage started at 11:15 a.m. with our immediate re-tweet of the state Department of Transportation’s first official report of a slide block-ing a highway. It ended shortly before midnight with our 23rd news tweet about the devastating landslide that had taken 43 lives. In between, Times staffers would post an initial story at 11:57 a.m. and expand and update

it 16 times into a comprehensive main story. It was accompanied by three sidebars, video feeds and an arresting gallery of photos

First tweet on Saturday at 11:15 a.m.

SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 EXHIBIT 1

11:59 a.m.SEATTLE TIMES HOME PAGE

}

Officials were somewhat slow to realize the magnitude of the disaster. This first story quotes a state trooper saying at least one house has been hit by the slide, that more people may be trapped, and search-and-res-

cue teams are on the way.


12:25 p.m.TWITTER UPDATE


}1:31 p.m.

SEATTLE TIMES HOME PAGE

By 12:50 p.m., The Times reports at least 15 homesmay have been wiped out. By 1:31 p.m., we report

that at least four people are hospitalized.

2:15 p.m.Seattletimes.com posts the first detailed account by a witness,

who was driving on Highway 530 when the slide hit.“In three seconds, everything got washed away,” he said.


2:30 p.m.SEATTLE TIMES HOME PAGE

The Times reports at least two are dead, six houses destroyed and a baby airlifted from the scene. The sheriff’s office still hasn’t fully grasped the magnitude of the landslide, describing it as a modest 40 yards wide and 100 yards from top to bottom. We would later learn the slide was actually 23 times larger. By mid-afternoon, three reporters and three

photographers are on scene, while a much larger team works the story by phone back in the newsroom.



Times confirms a third victim died in the mudslide and has added video, photos and live updates to the report.

http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2014/03/mudslide-carries-at-least-one-house-onto-snohomish-county-highway/

Social media: 7:05 p.m., Saturday, March 22


This photo by Times photographer Marcus Yam, taken from a helicop-ter miles away outside the no-fly zone, conveys for the first time to our community and the world the massive scope of the Oso disaster. The

size of the landslide is 23 times larger than the sheriff’s office estimate only hours earlier. This single Seattle Times Facebook post would reach

more than 1 million people and be shared more than 8,000 times.



Outside a hospital door, after the news media had cleared out from a news event, Seattle Times reporter Mike Lindblom obtains the first

interview of a survivor from the neighborhood buried under “the pile.” She had slipped out of her hospital room to grab a smoke and let him

come back to her room.



Seattletimes.com publishes four newor updated stories about disaster.





The Times continues reporting throughout the night.The last update on March 22 comes in a news tweet

just before midnight, our 23rd that dayabout the deadly landslide.

SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2014 EXHIBIT 1



‘In three seconds,everything

washed away’

M A R C U S Y A M / T H E S E A T T L E T I M E S

This aerial view shows a huge volume of earth missing from the side of a hill facing the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River. The resulting debris careened through homes and over Highway 530 about 15 miles east of Arlington and spilled into the river, blocking its westward flow. Recent rain saturation likely played a part in the massive slide.


BY ANGEL GONZALES, CORALGARNICK AND JACK BROOMSeattle Times staff reporters

OSO, Snohomish County — Searchers looking for victims of the massive mudslide in eastern Snohomish County reported hearing voices — possibly from children — coming late Saturday from an area hit by the slide.

“This is a massive slide, and we are in a very, very fluid and unstable situation,” said Travis Hots, Snohomish County district fire chief.

“This is still a rescue mission.”With three people known dead,

six homes destroyed and a state highway severed by Saturday’s massive mudslide, officials advised people downstream of the slide to evacuate, fearing that further damage could occur.

Residents between the slide area and Arlington, 15 miles to the west, were advised to leave their homes for the night, because of the danger that the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River could burst through the blockage created by the


slide and cause immediate, severe flooding.

About a dozen people were injured as the wall of mud crashed through homes, and rescuers continued searching for victims into the evening.

The power, speed and severity of the slide were spectacular, as it swept over a 360-yard-long section of roadway with mud and debris up to 20 feet deep.

“In three seconds, everything got washed away,” said Paulo de Oliveira of Lynnwood, who was driving on Highway 530 when the slide hit around 11 a.m. “Darkness covering the whole roadway and one house right in the middle of the street.”

De Oliveira said he was behind two other vehicles when the slide hit.

“I came within about 50 feet of being washed out.”

He got out of his car and heard a woman scream from one of the swamped houses.

“Along the river, I saw one place where there were two homes and they were just gone. Nothing left but a portable toilet ... destruction all around.”

Saturday evening, state highway crews were prepared to close bridges downstream — even one over Interstate 5 — when water surges through the blockage.

“A river has got a lot of energy in it. When you’ve got a plug, the pressure is going to build up and it’s going to blow,” said Bart Treece, of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).

Because a rush of water could

erode bridge supports, WSDOT doesn’t want anyone on the spans until after the torrent has passed and any damage been inspected, he said. One of two I-5 spans over the river was built in the 1930s and is of particular concern, Treece said.

The slide hit about four miles east of the town of Oso, said Lt. Rodney Rochon, head of the Snohomish County sheriff’s special operations unit. Authorities were unsure exactly how many homes were damaged and were searching for additional victims through the day.

Rochon said a 6-month-old baby was airlifted to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center. Hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg said the baby was in critical condition.

Four other victims were also in Harborview: a 68-year-old man in

M A R K F R A N C I S / W A S H I N G T O N S T A T E P A T R O L

Debris from several buildings and a house in the middle of Highway 530 covered the road in the photo taken by Trooper Mark Francis of the Washington State Patrol shortly after the massive slide occurred.


critical condition; an 81-year-old man in critical condition; a 37-year-old man in serious condition; and another man, age and condition unknown, Gregg said.

Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington received five victims, one of whom was later released. Three of the four apparently had minor injuries.

Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon reported that it was treating a 68-year-old man in serious

condition.The mudslide sent tons of debris

into the river, causing the river to overflow its banks.

Robin Youngblood was sitting in the living room with her friend, Jetty Dooper, when they heard a crack.

“All of a sudden there was a wall of mud” about 25 feet high, she said. “Then it hit and we were rolling. The house was in sticks. We were buried under things, and we


dug ourselves out.”Youngblood said she scrambled

onto the top of the clothes dryer, and Dooper onto a dishwasher.

Covered in mud and shivering, they waited for perhaps an hour until they were lifted a short distance by helicopter and placed on an ambulance, Youngblood said.

Fearing a potential for flooding, officials asked residents near the slide to evacuate their homes. An emergency shelter was opened at Post Middle School in Arlington.

Officials urged people to stay away from the area Saturday afternoon as the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River threatened to break through or spread around the debris dam, potentially causing further destruction.

“While we are not issuing an evacuation order at this time, we need residents upstream and

downstream of the slide to prepare to leave their homes at a moment’s notice,” said Bronlea Mishler, deputy director of communications for Snohomish County.

“We are asking residents to prepare their homes, pets, livestock, etc., for immediate evacuation if and when it becomes necessary.”

A river gauge immediately downstream of the mudslide showed the water level had dropped from 3.1 feet to .9 feet an hour after the landslide occurred. By 3:30 p.m., it had dropped to .25 feet.

More than 100 rescuers searched inside the destroyed houses. One of the search teams had to be rescued after it got stuck in the mud.

Two hovercrafts were brought to the area for rescue efforts.

David Logan, 58, of Seattle, was among those waiting near the

A L A N B E R N E R / T H E S E A T T L E T I M E S

Emergency responders relocate from the Oso Fire Department on Highway 530 to downtown Arlington over concerns of the debris jam breaking on the Stillaguamish.


barricade on Highway 530. He said his brother lives in the slide area and he hadn’t heard from him.

“I know his house is destroyed,” Logan said.

Rochon said rescue operations and a broader search will need to be completed before heavier equipment can be brought in.

Red Cross officials converged on Post Middle School in Arlington, where they set up a shelter for victims of the slide and evacuated residents.

Red Cross disaster-relief

coordinator Andy Hamack said the best thing members of the community can do is donate money.

Snohomish County has been saturated with rain this month, establishing the kind of unstable terrain that can lead to mudslides, said Johnny Burg, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Seattle Times staff reporters Mike Carter, Paige Cornwell, Mike Lindblom and Ken

Armstrong and news researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this report.

M A R K H A R R I S O N / T H E S E A T T L E T I M E S

A slurry of silt-laden water is nearly at a standstill in the North Fork of the Stillaguamish just a few miles downstream from the slide that blocked the river Saturday. The river was backing up above the slide.

BY MIKE LINDBLOMAND MIKE CARTERSeattle Times staff reporters

OSO, Snohomish County — Robin Youngblood was sitting in her living room with a friend from the Netherlands on Saturday morning when they heard a loud crack.

Youngblood, 63, says she looked out a window and saw half of a 2,000-foot-high foothill break away and surge across the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River toward her house on the opposite bank. It was a former quarry, she said.

A wall of mud she estimated to be 25 feet high crashed through the home, taking both Youngblood and her friend Jetty Dooper, with it.

“Then it hit and we were rolling,” said Youngblood, 63. “The house was in sticks. We were buried under things and we dug ourselves out.”

Youngblood scrambled onto her clothes dryer. Her friend, Dooper, 51, climbed onto a dishwasher.

“We started yelling for help. Three kids came running.” Youngblood told them to find an adult and call 911.

The pair, covered in mud and shivering, waited about an hour until help arrived. They were airlifted a short distance by helicopter to a road where

ambulances were waiting.While awaiting the ride to

Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington, Youngblood said a 4-year-old boy named Jacob showed up, shivering.

“I stripped him down, wrapped

Survivor saw wall of mud,her house ‘in sticks’

SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2014 Exhibit 1

M A R K H A R R I S O N / T H E S E A T T L E T I M E S

Robin Youngblood survived the land-slide that destroyed her house next to the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River on Saturday morning. “All of a sudden there was a wall of mud” about 25 feet high, she said. “Then it hit and we were rolling. The house was in sticks.”

him in blankets, told him I was a grandmother and I would hug him until help arrived,” she said.

The boy’s mother eventually showed up, but she didn’t know where her two other sons were, Youngblood said.

Standing outside the hospital Saturday smoking a cigarette, Youngblood said she felt blessed to have survived with just torn ligaments in her right middle finger. Her home was destroyed.

Youngblood’s adult son, Kane Conner, lived in the house, too. He was away watching one of his boys play baseball when the mudslide flattened their home.

“Other than the hundred bucks or so in my pocket, everything’s gone,” he said. “We’re still really in shock.”

Only one item survived the disaster, Robin Youngblood said. It’s a painting of a Cherokee warrior, left muddy by the slide. She asked a rescuer to salvage the heirloom.

Cheryl Burrows, 56, was not at home at the time of the slide, but later made her way to the fire station in Oso to await news.

She said she has four dogs and a cat trapped in her house. About Steelhead Drive, where her home is located, she said the authorities told her, “There is nothing left in there.”

The home of Tim and Brandy Ward was swept away by the mudslide. Tim Ward was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with a fractured pelvis, and Brandy Ward is still missing, said son-in-law James Burdette, who came to the Red Cross shelter set up at Post Middle School in Arlington with his wife and 9-month-old son, Asher, waiting for updates.

Area residents came to the shelter with donations throughout the day for flood victims. Melissa Kummelman came with her three children bringing bags of food and clothes.

“It’s awful,” she said. “I feel sorry for a lot of the people living in that area.”

Mike Lindblom: 206-515-5631or [email protected]

Mike Carter: 206-464-3706or [email protected]

Seattle Times staff reporters Paige Cornwell and Coral Garnick contributed to this story.

SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2014 Exhibit 1

Date post:	26-Aug-2020
Category:	Documents
Upload:	others
View:	1 times
Download:	0 times

MARCUS YAM / THE SEATTLE TIMES WASHED...

Documents