BALTIMORE, Maryland March 25, 2014 - A mudslide so large and encompassing that it mowed down everything in its path with a wall of mud has killed at least 14 people and left up to 176 others unaccounted for and missing. In the wake of the completely unanticipated occurrence, accounts of astounding rescues are emerging even as the President declared a disaster area and instructed FEMA to delve into all resources to aid the affected. The disaster area is in Snohomish County, Washington, which is some 55 miles east of Seattle. The mudslide is said to have been one mile wide and was made up of mud and debris created when one side of a large hill, some fifty to 70 feet high, gave way. Emergency calls to 911 depict victims screaming for help as entire communities are swallowed up in the mud.
Emergency workers made some truly amazing rescues. In one instant a four-year-old boy was pulled from mud and water that completely submerged him. In another case rescue workers were told to halt their advance because of the extremely dangerous conditions ahead of them, but they heard the cries of an infant and continued forward, then dug with their hands and yanked the child out of the mud, thereby saving his life.
The President made his declarations in Washington. Scores of emergency workers from around the country are descending on the area to search for survivors. Authorities have said that the list of missing may be high as descriptions of some of the missing are believed to be duplicative of each other.
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