Mudslide strands about 200 in Washington neighborhood
Floodwaters have started to subside after heavy rains that caused mudslides in western Washington state Monday. The town of Hoquiam was hit especially hard, with a landslide crushing and uprooting several homes and stranding about 200 people in the Beacon Hill neighborhood.
WA Mudslides devastate neighborhood. People flee for their lives. http://t.co/X4Gvo76hVP pic.twitter.com/5xqYzmwneg
— WLNS Newsroom (@WLNS) January 6, 2015
Fortunately, no mudslide-related injuries have been reported. In Aberdeen, just a few miles from Hoquiam, firefighters rescued an elderly woman and her dog trapped in her rainswept house by cutting a hole in the roof. She was taken to the hospital but was in good condition, according to police.
By Tuesday morning, police had begun to evacuate Beacon Hill residents along a narrow logging road, cautioning that the hillside could still be unstable and that the neighborhood might remain cut off for a few more days.
In the meantime, homeowners and local reporters have been documenting the destruction on social media.
This widely shared Vine shows a piece of the hillside collapsing on one house and uprooting it.
Overwhelming sadness in #Hoquiam as slide victims try to salvage what's left #Q13FOX pic.twitter.com/TFHY9v44Mz
— Steve Kiggins (@Q13FOXKiggins) January 6, 2015
There will be a lot of cleanup to do on hard-hit Queets Avenue in #Hoquiam. pic.twitter.com/t0h47lq33f
— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) January 6, 2015
Sometimes you can't ask people for an interview, you just have to ask how they're doing. #Hoquiam #kiroradio pic.twitter.com/oMMEgry4DF
— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) January 6, 2015
I've seen water recede substantially within the last few hours in Hoquiam #GoodNews pic.twitter.com/UUz57ner7f
— Michael Konopasek (@MikeKonopasek) January 6, 2015