NW Mudslide Season 2013-14

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The entire Seattle-Everett section is a problem. There have been occasional slides elsewhere, but the section built along the seaside at the base of the bluffs... it just keeps collapsing.

I understand that the slide prevention work in the Seattle-Everett area was scheduled to take three years in total, IIRC, doing different subsections each year. So I suppose we'll see whether it worked in the 2015-16 season.
 
I would guess that the slide is somewhere near the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. That area has been less prone to slides than the area north of Seattle.

All Aboard Washington
Amtrak has now tweeted that a mudslide between Tacoma and Olympia-Lacey has blocked passenger service. They are apparently busing all the way from Seattle to Portland. BNSF's 48 hr moratorium on passenger train movements is in effect.
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CHamilton said:
Landslide reportedly strands residents near Index (WA)

The affected area is not far from the BNSF tracks used by the EB, but none of the press reports indicate that the slide affected the tracks.
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Index residents still digging out after December mudslide

About 100 residents in the small private town of Index are finally getting some relief after getting stranded by a December mudslide....

Dirt, downed trees and debris cover the community’s only road, making it only accessible on foot. A trip for groceries or other supplies is a two-mile trudge for Boullioun each way. Power outages are a constant problem....

Since the road is private, Snohomish County can’t help. Homeowners raised $50,000 for crews to keep one lane open, but the money is nearly gone.
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Landslide risks increasing with more heavy rain in forecast


SEATTLE _- A very soggy weekend is about to hand off to a very soggy week ahead, and all that rainfall is bringing increased risk of landslides around Western Washington, National Weather Service forecasters said.
Already the region has seen anywhere between 1-3 inches of rain through midday Monday, and another storm due in for Wednesday and Thursday is expected to drop an additional 1 to 3 inches of rain.

Cumulative rainfall over the last week has soaked soils to the point where the region's landslide risk is at elevated levels, NWS forecasters said, and that amount of rain will put extra pressure on soil instability, leading to an increased risk of landslides going forward....

The risk is not expected to let up any time soon. After the rather wet storm Wednesday and Thursday, long range models suggest another fairly wet storm to push through the region late Friday into Saturday.
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Weather test coming for landslide work

MUKILTEO, Wash. —


Heavy rain is raising the risk of landslides - especially north of Seattle. The shoreline running to Everett was hit with a record number of slides two years in a row....

Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Washington State Department of Transportation are working on a $16.1 million plan to shore up the waterfront by removing unstable debris, increasing drainage and building stabilization walls.

They identified six trouble spots and recently completed work on two of them - one on the south end of Mukilteo, the other on the south end of Everett.

Last season, there were 200 major slides. This season, there have only been ten.

"I think that we have a stronger awareness of where those hot spots are. We've been talking about them for years," said John Pennington, director of Snohomish County’s Department of Emergency Management.

Pennington says a dry end to 2013 helped keep slopes stable, but rain in January caused plenty of problems, like a road wash-out in Index....

Back in Mukilteo, several inches of rain in the forecast this week may be the first test for what the state is doing to prevent similar problems here.
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BNSF hopeful it can avoid mudslide-related closures


NEAR EVERETT, Wash. -- The cliffs along the waterfront between Mukilteo and Everett are notorious for dumping mud, rock and trees onto the Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks below.
This year, despite a recent surge in rainfall, the trains are hardly missing a run....
BNSF spokesperson Gus Melonas....says the railroad has used $16 million in federal money to protect the tracks from slides that can tie up freight and passenger service for days.
"With all these measures in place, there has been only six blocking events this season compared to sixty this time last season," said Melonas.
BNSF has installed barriers, improved drainage and removed 13,000 tons of debris. It also helps that we had a much drier December and January than the year before.
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Amtrak, Sounder canceled as mudslide hits tracks at Mukilteo


MUKILTEO, Wash. (AP) - A mudslide hit the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks on Thursday morning near Mukilteo.
Spokesman Gus Melonas says crews will have the mud, rocks and tree debris cleared later in the morning, so freight trains can continue to roll.

But Amtrak and Sounder commuter trains will have to observe at 48-hour safety moratorium until Saturday morning. Passengers can be bused.
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So to get from Seattle to Chicago via the Empire Builder this week, it's Bus/Train/Bus/Train.

Lovely.
 
More Mukilteo mudslides hit railroad tracks

Updated 10:53 am, Friday, March 7, 2014

MUKILTEO, Wash. (AP) — Two more mudslides hit Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks near Mukilteo Thursday night, following one Thursday morning.
Spokesman Gus Melonas (mel-OWN'-us) says crews quickly cleared the debris so freight trains can continue to roll. But Amtrak and Sounder passenger trains will have to observe a 48-hour safety moratorium until 10:40 p.m. Saturday.
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While the 7 or so closures this year is still too many... I think BNSF does deserve a little credit for their work over the last year. Cascades and Sounder trains have been rolling much more frequently this year.

Most have been on the north portion of the corridor that only has 6 round-trips per day. It's also worth noting that while the closures are inconvenient... it's not like these communities are lacking for transportation. The Sounder trains serve as high-capacity transportation... but there is already a very robust system of Sound Transit Express commuter buses and commuter routes from Community Transit. Amtrak also runs several thruway motor coaches along the same route. It's not the same experience... but at least there is an alternative.
 
Overnight rains to boost chance of floods, mudslides


Another 2 to 4 inches of rain expected in the Cascade Mountains overnight will raise the chance of lowland flooding and mudslides, according to the National Weather Service....
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport had nearly half an inch of rain Saturday by 4 p.m., and could get another inch overnight, according to the weather service’s 3:30 p.m. forecast. Coastal areas could see 1 to 3 inches of rain overnight.

The weather service issued a “flood watch” for Western Washington rivers, and warns that landslides could occur as saturated slopes give way.

As of 4 p.m. Saturday, the airport had 4.25 inches of rain so far in March, surpassing the normal amount for all of March, 3.72 inches.
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Mudslide extends moratorium on passenger rail service

Freight trains were rolling through Mukilteo Saturday night, but passenger trains won't be allowed until engineers can check the stability of the slopes above the tracks.
There have been a series of mudslides near the tracks since Thursday. The most recent mudslide, on Saturday afternoon, was five feet deep and twenty feet across. ...

While the tracks between Seattle and Everett have been cleared of mud, rocks and trees, a 48-hour moratorium on passenger service starts every time there is a slide just to make sure the rail line is safe. The current moratorium won’t end until 4:30 p.m. Monday.
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