MUKILTEO, Wash. — Residents in mudslide-prone areas said the deadly mudslide in Oso and recent record rains have them concerned about a similar event.
"With all the rains that we're all aware of, record-setting rains, something's got to move," Wally Trana said, surveying the hillside below his backyard. Far below his home on Marine View Drive in Mukilteo, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks provide a route for Amtrak and Sounder trains.
"Do you say, 'Oh boy, it could happen?'" KIRO 7 asked, referring to the possibility of a serious mudslide.
"Yeah, yeah, I say at least, 'Oh boy,'" he admitted.
Chopper 7 showed where three slides in 24 hours sent earth plummeting onto the railroad tracks, halting service.
The horrific tragedy of at least 18 people dead, 30 missing, and family homes destroyed in Oso's massive landslide is "gut-wrenching," Trana said.
He is visibly choked up.
"It's a horrible, horrible situation," he said.
Trana's experience with smaller slides isn't limited to the cliff overlooking the tracks. About 20 years ago, the land collapsed on his home's north side.
He said the insurance company paid to install two concrete walls to help reinforce the land.
Trana said it also told him that his insurance would not cover slides in the future.
"With all that's happening, are you thinking about getting that kind of insurance?" KIRO 7 asked.
"Well, it's a good question, because my wife just brought it up the other day," he said. "She said, 'Maybe we should look for earth movement insurance again.'"
Trana said the insurance, with its added expense, isn't a priority.
"I may call, which I haven't done, and just get an estimate on what is available, what it costs and what kind of coverage it would be," he said.
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.
"I think they will reinforce the banks for us," Larsen said. "It'll take a while."
By March 7, BNSF had counted nine mudslides blocking the tracks north of Seattle this season, compared to 60 the year before.
This is the wettest March since records began at SeaTac Airport in 1948, surpassing the old record rainfall in 1950.
KIRO
