3 Killed, 8 Hospitalized after Washington State Landslide - Breaking news
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A devastating landslide Saturday killed three people, cut off a small town and a river and
prompted an evacuation notice for fear of a potentially "catastrophic flood event,"
authorities said. The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office said,
in addition to those dead, seven adults and a 6-month-old boy were rescued and sent to
local hospitals. One of those hospitals, Harborview Medical
Center in Seattle, reported that five patients had been airlifted there and were in its care.
Three of those -- including the baby, a 58-year-old man and an 81-year-old man -- were in critical
condition Saturday night, according to spokeswoman Susan Gregg.
At least six houses were destroyed in the landslide, though the sheriff's office noted
they are still assessing exactly how many structures have been affected.
The first reports of the landslide came in around 10:45 a.m. (1:45 p.m. ET) along State
Road 530, the sheriff's office said. Photos provided by the Washington State Patrol
show floodwaters and sprawling debris covering a rural patch of that two-lane road, framed
by woodlands and snow-capped mountains. CNN first learned of the landslide via Twitter.
Groundwater saturation tied to heavy rainfall in the area over the past month was blamed
for the landslide, which authorities say measured at least 45 yards wide.
Because it blocked SR 530, the landslide cut off Darrington, a town of about 1,350 people
located 75 miles northeast of Seattle and within close proximity to Round Mountain,
Whitehorse Mountain and White Chuck Mountain. Part of the Stillaguamish River also was blocked.
