Estimated financial losses from the deadly Washington mudslide that has killed at least 24 people have reached $10 million, Gov. Jay Inslee said Monday in a letter asking the federal government for a major disaster declaration.
In seeking additional federal help following one of the deadliest landslides in U.S. history, Inslee said about 30 families need assistance with housing, along with personal and household goods.
The estimated losses include nearly $7 million in structures and more than $3 million in their contents, Inslee's letter said.
Inslee's request Monday also seeks federal help with funeral expenses, and mental health care programs for survivors, volunteers, community members and first responders.
He also is asking for access to disaster housing, disaster grants, disaster-related unemployment insurance and crisis counseling programs for those in Snohomish County and for the Stillaguamish, Sauk-Suiattle and Tulalip Indian tribes.
The Snohomish County medical examiner's office said Monday afternoon that it has received a total of 24 victims, and 18 of those have been publicly identified. Previously, the official death toll was 21, with 15 victims identified.
The remains of three additional victims were found Monday, but they have not yet been included in the medical examiner's official numbers, Snohomish County Executive Director Gary Haakenson told reporters at a Monday evening briefing.
"There's been an exhaustive effort by the detectives to narrow the list down to one that they feel comfortable releasing," Haakenson said. "These are 22 people whose loved ones are grieving," he said. "We want to do all we can to find them and put some closure in place for their families."
