Gov Jay Inslee's office/Reuters
There are now 14 confirmed dead and 176 people unaccounted for in Washington state, according to the authorities working on the devastating mudslide in Snohomish County. Crews were delayed on Monday due to the threat of a secondary landslide. After none were found Monday, the search for survivors continues Tuesday morning with help from the National Guard. A wall of mud and debris wiped out neighborhoods and a highway about 55 miles north of Seattle. Roughly 30 homes were hit by the mudslide, and people could still be trapped inside. However, John Pennington, who heads the county's Department of Emergency Management, said the 176 missing is a "soft number" and insists the total casualty figures will not be as large. The landslide started after rain-soaked embankments on Route 530 gave way on Saturday morning. According to Gov. Jay Inslee, rescuers who went in on Saturday “got dragged in up to their armpits and had to be dragged out by ropes themselves.” The mud is 15 feet deep in some places.