ARLINGTON, Wash. (AP) — A scientist working for the government had warned 15 years ago about the potential for a catastrophic landslide in the community where the collapse of a rain-soaked hillside over the weekend killed at least 14 people and left scores missing.
Searchers found more bodies Tuesday as they slogged through muck and rain, but the number of victims in addition to the 14 already found has not been confirmed, Snohomish County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Shari Ireton said.
With the grim developments came word of the 1999 report by geomorphologist Daniel Miller, raising questions about why residents were allowed to build homes on the hill and whether officials had taken proper precautions.
"I knew it would fail catastrophically in a large-magnitude event," though not when it would happen, said Miller, who was hired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do the study. "I was not surprised."
Snohomish County officials and authorities in the devastated rural community of Oso said they were not aware of the study.
But John Pennington, director of the county Emergency Department, said local authorities were vigilant about warning the public of landslide dangers, and homeowners "were very aware of the slide potential."
In fact, the area has long been known as the "Hazel Landslide" because of landslides over the past half-century. The last major one before Saturday's disaster was in 2006.
