The death toll following Saturday's massive mudslide in Washington state has risen to at least 16, authorities said Tuesday evening, after two more bodies were recovered. Another eight bodies were believed to have been located but had not yet been recovered, which if found would bring the total to 24, NBC News reported. Earlier Tuesday, an emergency official said that a small earthquake more than two weeks ago may have triggered the slide and said officials could not have seen the disaster coming. At that same briefing, the official was asked about a 1999 geologist's report highlighting the land's instability — a report whose co-writer told NBC News it "should have triggered major concerns." The local official, meanwhile, said that his agency did look at recent seismic activity on the hill and found there was a 1.1-magnitude earthquake March 10 where the slab of hillside broke free Saturday. It's unknown if that tiny earthquake played a part in the mudslide.
