USA

Obama to Visit Site of US Mudslide

A house is seen destroyed in the mud on Highway 530 next to mile marker 37 in Oso, Washington, March 23, 2014.

U.S. President Barack Obama will meet Tuesday with families of victims of a deadly mudslide in the northwestern state of Washington.

The White House says the president will survey the damage from last month's mudslide, which killed at least 41 people and destroyed dozens of homes.

Obama also is scheduled to meet with victims, first responders and recovery workers during his visit. The president signed an emergency declaration ordering U.S. government assistance to supplement state and local relief efforts in the aftermath of the mudslide and flooding.

A sudden landslide in late March cascaded without warning through the rural enclave of Oso, north of the city of Seattle. The mud buried a river valley neighborhood and covered a stretch of state highway.

From Washington state, Obama is due to travel to Asia, where he will visit visit Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines.