Alaska landslide leaves 1 dead and 3 injured in Ketchikan, authorities say

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A landslide in the Alaskan city of Ketchikan killed one person and injured three, forcing a mandatory evacuation, authorities said.

Three people were taken to Ketchikan Medical Center following the landslide, which occurred around 4 p.m. Sunday and damaged homes and infrastructure, the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and the City of Ketchikan said in a joint statement Sunday.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy declared a state of emergency for Ketchikan, while County Mayor Rodney Dial and City Mayor Dave Kiffer each declared their own states of emergency.

“Friends, it is with heavy hearts that we report that a landslide in the city has claimed one life, left several injured, damaged homes and affected our community,” Dial said in the statement.

Ketchikan is a narrow, elongated city with terraced streets that sits beneath a 3,000-foot mountain. In an interview with NBC News, Kiffer described the landslide as “about to split the community in half.”

Kiffer also said that, contrary to what geography would suggest, the city has never experienced a landslide of this magnitude.

“I was stunned because in my 65 years here I have never experienced anything of this magnitude,” said Kiffer. “This is simply not part of our normal lives.”

Kiffer explained that the deceased person was traveling on a bypass road next to the mountainside when the landslide hit the vehicle. The other person in the vehicle remained in hospital in stable condition, he said.

Another victim was taken to the hospital. All other people are missing, the district and city said in a statement.

Several homes were damaged by the landslide and a mandatory evacuation was ordered for residents of Third Avenue and surrounding streets, while an emergency shelter was set up at Ketchikan High School, the district and city said.

Kiffer said two miles of the Ketchikan community, a quarter of the city, are at risk of another landslide. State geologists are investigating the cause of the landslide and will determine whether people can return to their homes.

The landslide came after a severe storm over the weekend ended a three-week dry spell. Kiffer noted that while the three to six inches of rain is not unusual for the city, it is unusual for such a storm to follow several weeks of drought.

Power was restored in some affected areas at 8:15 p.m. Sunday evening. Other areas remain without power while the landslide is cleared and broken power poles are replaced, the municipality and city said.

Various local and state authorities responded to the landslide in the southeast Alaska city, which is about 478 kilometers south of the state capital Juneau.

A specialist from the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Emergency Management as well as employees from the U.S. Department of Transportation are expected to travel to Ketchikan on Monday, Dunleavy said.

“It's very scary. I don't think anyone in Ketchikan goes about their day-to-day life thinking the mountain is going to collapse,” Kiffer said. “And now we have to do it.”