Earthquake May Have Caused Washington Mudslide, Official Says
ARLINGTON, Washington — A small earthquake struck just days before the deadly mudslide ravaged a rural community in Washington state last Saturday morning, officials say.

John Pennington, director of Snohomish County Emergency Management, said at a Tuesday morning press briefing that a 1.1 magnitude earthquake struck on March 10 just 100-yards behind the site of the mudslide. Officials were eyeing the quake as the cause.

While it wasn't discovered by authorities until Monday, Pennington says, he believes that there was nothing local authorities could have done to warn citizens that a disaster was imminent.

"This is just one that hit us," he said. "We [did] everything we could."
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