Memorial at site of deadliest landslide in US history opens on 10th anniversary
OSO, Washington — The small community of Oso, Washington, on Friday inaugurated a memorial honoring the 43 people who died on this site a decade ago in the deadliest landslide in U.S. history.
Hundreds gathered there for a ceremony at the 8,000-square-foot monument. The $3.8 million site northeast of Seattle was dedicated to Oso, those who died there, the survivors and the first responders.
Tim Ward’s wife Brandy and four of their dogs died, and their home was decimated when the slide hit that day. Ward previously described regaining consciousness 1,500 feet (457 meters) from where his house once stood, in a hole 15 feet (4.6 meters) deep, with an opening at the top the size of a kitchen saucer. Rescuers eventually got him out.
On Friday, he recalled the close-knit community that shared what they had, describing friendly neighbors who gave out extra produce for free if they had it.
“It was there for the taking. That’s who we were,” Ward said. “That’s who we honor. Remember the love and compassion, from now until eternity. That’s what the neighborhood was like.’
Many of the victims – retirees, grandparents, military veterans, office workers, young families – were at home that day. Others happened to be there too, including three contractors working on a house, someone installing a satellite dish and a plumber servicing a hot water tank.
An estimated 19 million tons of sand and ancient glacial deposits—enough to cover 700 fields 10 feet (3 meters) deep—slid at 10:37 a.m. on March 22, 2014. The earth rushed across the river at an average speed of 40 mph (64 km per hour), aquaplaning on the saturated valley floor before crashing into Steelhead Haven, a subdivision of 35 homes. The highway that ran alongside it was buried 20 feet (6.1 meters) deep.
Nine people survived the slide, including a mother and a baby. Meanwhile, hundreds of emergency workers spent days digging through the rubble looking for victims. The last victim was found in July.
The slide was a national wake-up call about the dangers of landslides. Washington state has hired more staff and done more mapping to better control the risk, and has tightened guidelines for logging landslide-prone slopes amid concerns that clearcutting at the top of the scar could fuel the disaster could have helped cause.
Congress passed the National Landslides Preparedness Act in 2020 to create a national strategy for identifying, understanding and protecting against landslides – legislation pushed by Washington state lawmakers.