Ama­teur Radio Emer­gency Ser­vice (ARES) vol­un­teers have pro­vid­ed lim­it­ed response
to those man­ag­ing the Sno­homish Coun­ty mud­slide in North­west Washington,
which is a declared state of emergency.
 
Beamed into lounge rooms around the world is the week­end col­lapse of a mountainside,
engulf­ing build­ings and cov­er­ing a wide area with a quick­sand-like slurry.
 
ARES North­west­ern Divi­sion Direc­tor Jim Pace K7CEX, report­ed that he had
trained vol­un­teers at the Emer­gency Oper­a­tions Cen­tre and in sup­port of the
Red Cross. The need for emer­gency com­mu­ni­ca­tions has been fair­ly low.
 
The Red Cross had set up shel­ters in Arling­ton and Dar­ring­ton that have been
kept in con­tact via ARES and repeaters. 

Some com­mu­ni­ca­tions were dam­aged result­ing in the respon­ders using mobile
phones and VHF radio. The respon­ders will have improved com­mu­ni­ca­tions when
fibre optic cabling is restored soon.
 
Search and res­cue teams have all but giv­en up hope of find­ing survivors,
as police heli­copters hov­er above the mess look­ing for signs of life. 

The slide swept trees, soil, rocks, and debris across rur­al com­mu­ni­ties of
Oso and Dar­ring­ton. About two dozen hous­es were involved. 

Sno­homish Coun­ty Direc­tor of Emer­gency Man­age­ment, John Pen­ning­ton advised
that the oper­a­tion was now a recov­ery mission. 

The num­ber of con­firmed deaths stood at 14, but was expect­ed to rise as those
report­ed miss­ing were recovered.
  
— Jim Lin­ton VK3PC, Chair­man IARU Region 3 Dis­as­ter Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Committee.