Gov. Jay Inslee is asking for an expansion of a federal emergency declaration the state received earlier this week in response to a devastating mudslide that has killed at least two dozen people and left many missing.
Inslee issued the request Thursday for additional help that would come from an expanded declaration, including helping local and state government agencies recover a portion of the estimated $4.5 million expected to be spent on emergency response, protective measures and debris removal related to Saturday's mudslide in Oso. The current declaration that was received Monday provided federal disaster teams, other personnel and equipment.
State and Snohomish County officials are also assembling data needed in advance of the governor requesting a major disaster declaration from the president that would make programs and money available to people and businesses directly impacted by the slide. Inslee's office says that request is expected in the next few days.
The Snohomish County medical examiner's office says it has received the bodies of 17 victims of the mudslide that laid waste to a Washington town. The slide is believed to have killed at least 25 people, a toll expected to increase.
In a statement late Thursday, the medical examiner's office said the new official death toll includes an infant recovered earlier in the day.
Authorities have acknowledged at least nine additional bodies have been located. They warned that a higher toll would be announced Friday in the March 22 mudslide.
