Mudslide death toll at 17, bad weather hampers rescue in US

The confirmed death toll from amudslideintheUSstateofWashingtonstoodat17butwasexpectedtoriseasstormy weather hampered search efforts, officials said Friday, according to dpa.Ninety people were listed as missing since the March 22 disaster."This afternoon they did locate one more victim in the debris fieldthough we are not including that in our total until they reach themedical examiner's office," Snohomish County executive director Gary Haakenson said."The identification process has been very, very challenging."Wet and windy weather was making it difficult for search helicoptersand rescue crews on the ground.The potential for flash flooding in Snohomish County was alsoextended until Monday evening, officials said.The logging town of Oso was buried under a thick layer of mud, treesand rocks when a 1.5-kilometre-long ridge gave way.