One person is dead and several others injured following a landslide that swept through a neighborhood in southeast Alaska on Sunday, authorities said.
The landslide tore into homes and businesses in the coastal city of Ketchikan around 4 p.m., the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and City of Ketchikan said in a joint statement.
Three people were transported to a nearby medical center. Of those individuals, two were admitted and one was treated and released. Everyone has been accounted for as of early Monday, authorities said.
“In my 65 years in Ketchikan, I have never seen a slide of this magnitude,” Ketchikan Mayor Dave Kiffer said in a statement. “The loss of life that we have encountered is heartbreaking, and my heart goes out to those who lost their homes.”
A mandatory evacuation order has been issued for homes in the surrounding area amid warnings that there could be secondary landslides, authorities said.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) has also issued a disaster emergency declaration, saying in a post on X that “all state agencies are directed to provide whatever assistance is needed.”
“My thoughts and prayers are with residents of Ketchikan tonight,” he added.
The landslide follows heavy rains in the area on Saturday and Sunday. The rain is forecast to continue through Monday morning.
Ketchikan, a city of roughly 8,000 people, dubs itself “The Salmon Capital of the World” due to its century-old commercial fishery.
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- Source: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/deadly-alaska-ketchikan-landslide_n_66cc87a5e4b0778aee5f7663