Catastrophic mudslides "just happen" says Washington state emergency official
- 10 years ago
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
STORY: Local officials in Washington state briefed reporters on Wednesday (March 26) on the latest search, rescue and recovery efforts at the site of the catastrophic mudslide over the weekend that likely killed at least 24 people and left as many as 176 others still unaccounted for.
The mudslide that impacted the small community of Oso was near the site of another devastating mudslide in 2006.
When asked by a reporter about the area's risk of mudslides, Snohomosh County Director of Emergency Management John Pennington said major disasters like these sometimes "just happen."
"People knew that this is a landslide prone area," said Pennington. "Sometimes large events that nobody sees happen and this event happened, and I want to find out why, I want to understand why."
"It haunts me, " he continued.
Some 200 rescue personnel, including the Washington National Guard resumed their search on Wednesday at first light.
STORY: Local officials in Washington state briefed reporters on Wednesday (March 26) on the latest search, rescue and recovery efforts at the site of the catastrophic mudslide over the weekend that likely killed at least 24 people and left as many as 176 others still unaccounted for.
The mudslide that impacted the small community of Oso was near the site of another devastating mudslide in 2006.
When asked by a reporter about the area's risk of mudslides, Snohomosh County Director of Emergency Management John Pennington said major disasters like these sometimes "just happen."
"People knew that this is a landslide prone area," said Pennington. "Sometimes large events that nobody sees happen and this event happened, and I want to find out why, I want to understand why."
"It haunts me, " he continued.
Some 200 rescue personnel, including the Washington National Guard resumed their search on Wednesday at first light.