Why no warning given before WA landslide?

Question

In Washington state a landslide/ mudslide has killed and buried perhaps 100 Americans buried alive due to 10 days of unusual torrential rains (of 500% more than normal). It was known to be a landslide area (like Laurel Canyon in LA Calif.) but despite up to10 days warning no siren sounded, no evacuation was ordered or assisted. I believe it's Snohomish County north of Seattle.
My question is where was the warning? Where was the pre evacuation?
LA CA canyons have mudslides every spring (and fires every Fall) but your warned and evacuated, you may lose your house but not your life.

Answer 1

If you look at the site on Google Earth you'll see that the exact area of the slide had sagged previously. It's on the outside of the curve in the river (a rill) which causes the bank on the outside to be washed away continually over time. The slide zone had been previously declared a hazard area and there should never have been allowed any building permits there. It really only was a question of "when" the slide would occur. So in answer to your question, the warning came long ago, before greed blinded the stupid development of the area.

They won't be joking about it anymore.

Answer 2

I did not hear anything about recent warnings in any of the news reports. I believe this falls in the same category with the warnings with the hurricanes. You can warn people as much as possible but there are those who will never listen - they believe that they are safe or nothing can happen to me - only the other person. This area was designated years ago as a potential hazard and over the years there have been mudslides but nothing to the extent of this one. The warnings were there.



The problem is most likely due to the fact that when the construction of homes is done the geological survey information and warnings are either not clear or are ignored. In Florida homes are constantly being built that are in the danger zones and are constantly ignored and people keep rebuilding. I don't understand why the government doesn't make people pay extreme amounts for insurance OR have a clause stating they are responsible for all costs (and no insurance payout) after the home is destroyed.

Why should the majority of people have to cover costs of rebuilding over and over for other people - those who ignore the warnings. Not fair!

Answer 3

Actually a warning was given way back in 1999 by a geomorphologist. He questioned why residents were allowed to build homes in that area, and if officials had taken proper precautions. Link to article below. The warnings were probably ignored because someone wanted to make money.



Even though a warning was given, it's impossible to know exactly when the event would occur.

Answer 4

Considering how much rain that area gets, it seems a bit unrealistic to evacuate the area every time it rains hard.



Nonetheless, the army corp of engineers apparently did issue a warning that the area could see a major mudslide with the next heavy rains. My guess is that, just like with hurricanes, most people decided that they could "ride it out."

Answer 5

The people in the area knew it was a potential land slide area. The bluff was a well known danger, and they even used to joke about it.

Answer 6

Life is not as 'makeable' as TV would often like us to believe.



Nature's just too big, too strong, too comprehensive for us to control, or even keep an eye on every risk.