NW Mudslide Season 2013-14

[NorthCoastHiawatha]

Mukilteo residents worry about record rains, consider landslide insurance

MUKILTEO, Wash. — Residents in mudslide-prone areas said the deadly mudslide in Oso and recent record rains have them concerned about a similar event.

The sad fact is it takes a disaster before people notice and become concerned about something.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

MUKILTEO, Wash. — Residents in mudslide-prone areas said the deadly mudslide in Oso and recent record rains have them concerned about a similar event...

...Trana and his neighbor, Carl Larsen, have seen the railroad test the soil. It's also invested in some slide prevention and monitors.

But both hope BNSF will take new, additional steps....

At this point in time it sounds to me like these two landowners, whose building of homes above the tracks in a slide prone area has helped contribute to the problems, don't mind if additional steps are taken, as long as it costs them zilch.

In other words, let somebody else pay for the consequences of the actions they take on their land that impacts others.

 

[CHamilton]

Not a joke. From Sound Transit on Twitter.

Northline Sounder service between Everett and Seattle is canceled Tuesday, 4/1 due to a mudslide.

A BNSF employee on Facebook confirms that the slide happened near Mukilteo, meaning that Cascades service north of Seattle, as well as the Empire Builder, will be affected.

 

[CHamilton]

Mudslide hits railroad track north of Seattle

SEATTLE (AP) - A mudslide has hit railroad tracks that run along Puget Sound under a bluff about three miles south of Mukilteo.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokesman Gus Melonas says the slide at 3:20 a.m. Tuesday is the biggest of 13 this rainy season in the region. It's about 150 feet long and covers both sets of the double-main line tracks about 15 feet deep in mud, rocks and trees.

Melonas says crews expect to clear the tracks by noon so that freight trains can resume rolling. But Amtrak and commuter trains between Seattle and Everett must observe a 48-hour safety moratorium. They can resume service early Thursday, if it's safe.

Rail passengers are bused in the meantime between Seattle and Everett.

 

[Railroad Bill]

So sorry to hear the destruction continues. A sad time for those who have lost loved ones in the other slides. Perhaps it will put some perspective on those who have to be bused around the slides on the train. Tis better to ride a bus than be a statistic under the mud.

 

[rickycourtney]

Glad I decided to take BoltBus between Seattle and Vancouver, BC for my trip tomorrow. I'd rather be on the bus for 4 hours and be done with the trip than deal with the bus bridge (which would guarantee a lot of sitting around in Everett doing nothing.)

 

[CHamilton]

Do mudslides warrant discontinuing train service between Seattle and Everett? Dick Falkenbury thinks so. You may remember him as the force behind the failed attempt to build a monorail in Seattle in the 1990s. Now he wants to discontinue the Sounder commuter trains north of Seattle, and presumably the Amtrak Cascades and Empire Builder as well, for safety reasons. I would argue that we need to push for swift completion of the mudslide mitigation work that is already underway, and that we need to look seriously at resurrecting an inland route to supplement the slide-prone coast route. Add your comments to his Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/dick.falkenbury/posts/783354881675002?stream_ref=1

 

[rickycourtney]

Is it me or did the nature of these slides change this year? It seems to me that there have been a fewer number of closures this year, but they seem to last longer. But I could be wrong.

It's also worth mentioning that this has been the wettest March on record here in Seattle.

 

[JayPea]

I don't recall near as many mudslides this winter as opposed to last year. Then again, the winter was very dry, at least for the first part of it.

 

[CHamilton]

Yes, I think that there have been many fewer mudslides this year, but the ones we have had, have been more severe. I assume this is because 1) the first part of the winter was much drier than normal, followed by a record-setting wet March; and 2) the mudslide mitigation work described here is already underway, which has probably reduced the smaller slides, while confining them to areas that have not yet been worked on.

 

[CHamilton]

All Aboard Washington on Facebook

BNSF has extended the current mudslide moratorium for passenger trains between Seattle and Everett through Friday morning. Amtrak will continue to bus between the two cities.

The moratorium is scheduled to expire at 3:20 am Friday.