By Anugrah Kumar
Exactly a week after Washington witnessed its deadliest natural disaster in nearly a century, communities observed a moment of silence Saturday even as the death toll from the mudslide rose to 27 amid an ongoing search for over 90 still missing. Christians are among relief providers.
More than 100 firefighters and volunteers in Oso in Snohomish County also came to a standstill briefly at 10:37 a.m. on Saturday for a moment of silence. A slide of dirt, trees, rocks and other debris – estimated to be a mile long – destroyed homes about 55 miles north of Seattle at 10:37 a.m. on March 22.
One of the volunteers and an army veteran, Bret Cunningham, prayed for the families. “That we continue to find them, hopefully find some alive, that God be with the ones that are grieving and that have survived,” he told Los Angeles Times.
“You see kids’ stuff and you can’t help but wonder what happened to that child,” Cunningham said. “We’ve been to Iraq and Afghanistan and seen some horrific things, but it’s something else to see this happen to your own community.”
The office of Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee had urged residents across the state “to join him in this moment of silence as a show of respect for those who have died and a gesture of comfort for those who grieve.”