Jammi Parris, a waitress at the Blue Bird Cafe in downtown Arlington, Wash., paints a yellow ribbon and the words "Hold on to Hope" on the window of the cafe on Tuesday, in tribute to the victims and people missing after a massive mudslide struck Saturday, killing at least 16 people and leaving dozens missing from the communities of Oso, and Darrington, Wash. Story here. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Search and cadaver dogs and rescuers using small bulldozers and their bare hands on Wednesday looked for victims and survivors of a deadly mudslide as local officials said they did everything they could to keep the rural community safe in the years before the catastrophe. Snohomish County Emergency Management Director John Pennington said that following a 2006 landslide in the area, authorities took steps to mitigate risks and tell local residents about potential hazards. But he said the sheer size of this slide — which destroyed a neighborhood, likely killing at least 24 and leaving dozens missing — was overwhelming. "It haunts me," a sometimes emotional Pennington said at news conference. "I think we did what we could do. Sometimes large slides happen"/Seattle Times. More here.

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