Washington Landslide Destroys Two Homes
Whidbey Island, WA — A landslide has destroyed two homes and threatened at least two dozen more on Whidbey Island. The landslide struck the Ledgewood Beach community at 4:15 am local time on Wednesday.
The landslide measured 1,000 feet and tore off a chunk of the subdivision, depositing the debris in the Puget Sound. Along with destroying two homes, the slide left several others in imminent danger, according to a county commissioner.
No one was injured in the slide, though authorities rescued 12 residents from almost 20 roads in the area. The homes were cut off by a road that was damaged in the slide.
Island County Commissioner Helen Price Johnson announced on Thursday that two houses were destroyed. She added, “We had an uneventful night, but the slide is still extremely active.”
Landslides in Washington are not unusual, especially during the rainy seasons of fall and spring. Five homes are in imminent danger of the still active slide, while 35 others are either under an evacuation order or are cut off from the rest of Whidbey Island.
The damage is still being assessed and geologists are evaluating the landslide. It will likely be days before it is safe for residents to return home, according to Washington state Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman Jessica Payne.
Live video of the Washington landslide showed that small sections of the cliff were still falling on Thursday morning. The video also showed people removing furniture and other belongings from their homes. Tons of debris fell into Puget Sound from the slide.
http://youtu.be/EbhXIm1xDtU
Richard Barker, who lives about 500 feet south of the landslide, said that the neighborhood had above-average rainfall over the winter and into spring. Snowfall last week also deposited several inches of wet snow. But there was no snow or rain in the past few days, Hartin reported. The homes are also built on a seismic fault that shifts on rare occasions.
Geologists will determine the cause of the Washington landslide.
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