A landslide cut a path down a steep, thickly forested hillside and crashed into several homes in Ketchikan, killing one person and injuring three in the latest such disaster to strike mountainous southeast Alaska.
The landslide Sunday afternoon prompted a mandatory evacuation of nearby homes in the city, a popular cruise ship stop along the famed Inside Passage in the Alaska panhandle. The slope remained unstable Monday, and authorities said that state and local geologists were arriving to assess the potential for further slides.
Ketchikan officials on Monday identified the victim as Sean Griffin, a 17-year veteran of the city’s public works team who was clearing stormwater drains with a co-worker when they were caught in the landslide.
Ketchikan is surrounded by the Tongass National Forest, a temperate rainforest that encompasses much of southeast Alaska. Landslides strike often in the region, but garner little notice when they hit remote, unpopulated areas.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy declared an emergency for Ketchikan, while Kiffer and Ketchikan Gateway Borough Mayor Rodney Dial issued a separate emergency declaration. A shelter was set up at Ketchikan High School.
Two of the victims in Ketchikan were admitted to the hospital and one was treated and released. All other individuals were accounted for, the city and borough said in a joint statement.
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