Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 21:02:38 EDT
Summary: There have been no significant changes since yesterday: the North Fork Stillaguamish River continues to flow across the natural dam that formed due to a large landslide and the water continues to gradually erode a larger channel.
The North Fork Stillaguamish River, Washington, continues to flow across the natural dam that formed due to a large landslide and the water continues to gradually erode a larger channel; i.e., there are no significant changes since yesterday.
County, State, and Federal agencies held a second scientific/technical coordination meeting today to share expertise and information. Three multi-agency teams were formed focused on the topics of 1) weather and river level monitoring, 2) landslide monitoring, and 3) lake level monitoring.
In addition to Snohomish County, participating agencies to date are the Washington State Departments of Natural Resources, Transportation, and Emergency Management Division, the National Weather Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The USGS installed two Rapid Deployment Gages (RDGs) that measure river water levels and discharge downstream from the natural dam and upstream from the lake that formed behind the natural dam. The gage downstream from the dam also measures water turbidity. Data are transmitted via satellite every 15 minutes and are expected to be available on-line in near real time by tomorrow.
USGS scientific and public affairs personnel have been on site to assist as needed.
For additional background information, see http://www.usgs.gov/blogs/features/usgs_top_story/landslide-in-washington-state/