A decade after the Oso landslide tragedy, which claimed 43 lives in one of the deadliest natural disasters of the nation, climate change looms as an ever-increasing threat to the safety of communities nationwide. The devastating event obliterated a neighborhood in the Cascade Mountain foothills, bringing the harsh reality of landslide dangers into the living rooms of America. Now, Jessica Pzsonka and her family, still grieving the loss of her sister and her sister's family in the landslide, are leaving Washington for Texas—the completed memorial where they once sought solace no longer enough to temper the enduring pain of their daily lives, as she explained to ABC News.

In the aftermath of the catastrophe, the state of Washington took action, expanding its corps of experts and sharpening its regulatory blades against the prospect of future landslides—bolstering mapping efforts and laying down tougher rules on logging operations that could destabilize precarious hillsides, AP News reported, the emotional and physical scars of Oso serve as a reminder to all about the very real dangers that living in such bucolic yet vulnerable settings can bring, even as residents strive to honor those lost with a carefully erected memorial.

While Pszonka's decision to relocate is a personal one, it underscores a broader necessity: the need for communities and nation-states to grapple with the growing implications of a changing climate, which is making storms wetter, slopes less stable and the job of predicting such disasters increasingly crucial and complex. The site of the landslide, once a peaceful riverside neighborhood, now stands as a testament to the power of natural forces, magnified by human-induced climate change, and the resilience of those who live in their shadow.

As the world commemorates the somber anniversary of the Oso slide, it also stands as a clarion call for continued vigilance and adaptation. "I need to get them out of here," Pszonka said of her parents, their grief as palpable today as it was when the earth slipped and forever altered the trajectory of their lives, according to a statement she gave to KATU. With climate change's dangers looming larger each year, more families may face decisions like the Pzsonkas, as they weigh the attachment to home against the imperatives of safety and mental health.