US landslide death toll expected to rise: official

The death toll from a devastating US landslide remained at 14 today but was expected to rise with more than 150 people listed missing, as the National Guard joined the massive rescue effort.
The number of people unaccounted for after Saturday's disaster in the tiny town of Oso in Washington state still stood at 176, although officials stressed that the figure should not be taken as a death toll.
"I would just ask all Americans to send their thoughts and prayers to Washington state and the community of Oso and the families and friends of (the missing)," President Barack Obama said.

"We hope for the best, but we recognize that this is a tough situation," he added in the Netherlands, where he was attending a nuclear security summit.
Yesterday, the confirmed death toll rose from eight to 14 following the mudslide which hit the town of Oso in Snohomish County, 60 miles (95 kilometers) northeast of Seattle.
"We're expecting that number to go up throughout the day," Snohomish County fire district chief Travis Hots said at a morning briefing Tuesday.
A total of 49 dwellings in the rural town were hit by the one square mile (2.5 square kilometer) wall of mud, rocks and trees, which also destroyed part of a highway.