After deadly mudslide, flood warning in Washington

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A worker navigates the muck left behind by a landslide in Snohomish County, Wash. (Ted S. Warren / Associated Press)

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Searchers head toward the site of the mudslide in Oso, Wash., on Friday. (Lindsey Wasson / Associated Press)

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A helicopter leaves the Darrington, Wash., airport on Friday as part of the emergency response to the massive mudslide in nearby Oso. (David Ryder / Getty Images)

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Searchers work on the side of a hill Friday at the site of the deadly mudslide in Oso, Wash. (Lindsey Wasson / Associated Press)

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A customer lays out a T-shirt for sale at a sporting goods store in Arlington, Wash., with proceeds to go to mudslide victims. (Elaine Thompson / Associated Press)

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Volunteer Carol Messingale sorts through goods donated for mudslide relief in Darrington, Wash. (David Ryder / Getty Images)

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Workers comb through debris at the site of the deadly mudslide in Oso, Wash. (Lindsey Wasson / Associated Press)

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Snoqualmie Indian tribe members Toby Strotz, right, and his sister, Chris Strotz Jacobs, embrace in Darrington, Wash., after the tribe announced a donation of $275,000 for mudslide relief efforts, including for local fire departments, the Red Cross, and others. Fire District 24 Chief Dennis Fenstermaker, left, thanks members of the tribe for the donation. (David Ryder / Getty Images)

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Claire Logan, right, carries supplies to help set up an evacuation center at Post Middle School in Arlington. (Mark Harrison / Seattle Times via AP)

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Kristopher Langton shares a moment with his son, Kristian Langton, 5 months, at a temporary Red Cross shelter at the Darrington Community Center in Darrington, Wash. (David Ryder / Getty Images)

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Amber Tollenaar, right, hugs the Rev. Janet Loyd at a temporary Red Cross shelter set up for landslide survivors at the Darrington Community Center in Darrington, Wash. (David Ryder / Getty Images)

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Elaine Young hugs her dog, Bo, days after the mudslide narrowly missed her home. (David Ryder / Getty Images)

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A body is carried out of a home destroyed by the mudslide. (Joshua Trujillo / Associated Press)

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Workers try to clear debris from State Route 530 on the western edge of the massive mudslide. (Ted S. Warren / Associated Press)

By Paresh Dave

March 22, 2014 8:48 PM PT

Authorities and residents along a tree-lined river north of Seattle were bracing for flooding Saturday night after a massive mudslide in the morning killed at least three people, leveled at least six homes and left a muddy mix of debris in the river that was acting as a dam.

Authorities worry that water could build up behind that dam of debris and mud and then cause flooding if it breaks through.

Emergency responders from the U.S. Navy, fire departments and law enforcement agencies across the region were searching through dusk for additional victims and clearing debris, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department said.

Two of those killed were found dead at the scene; a third person died at a hospital. Their identities were not immediately released.

Harborview Medical Center in Seattle reported that a 6-month-old baby boy was in critical condition at the hospital along with a 58-year-old man and an 81-year-old man. A 37-year-old man was in serious condition, and the status of a fourth injured man was unknown.

At Cascade Valley Hospital in Arlington, four patients remained hospitalized, three of them with minor injuries. One patient had already been treated and released, spokeswoman Jennifer Egger told the Los Angeles Times.

Skagit Valley Hospital was treating a 68-year-old man with fractures in the lower part of his body.

The mudslide, which happened at about 10:45 a.m., was estimated to be at least 45-by-60 yards, officials said Saturday afternoon. A statement from the county attributed the mudslide to heavy rain in the last month.

The homes destroyed were in a community along the Stillaguamish River in Arlington, about 40 miles north of Seattle. Snohomish County officials said they were strongly urging some residents along the river to voluntarily evacuate because of fears that the river would overflow.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the area near Arlington, but said “massive flooding” was unlikely.

State Highway 530, a two-lane road, was closed for seven miles from Oso Loop to Little French Creek Road, the Washington Department of Transportation said.

The agency said its experts on the terrain were flying to Oso to advise county crews.

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