Alaska’s governor on the morning of Aug. 26 declared a disaster following a landslide that left at least one person dead and three injured in the city of Ketchikan.
“In addition to the disaster declaration, I have directed state agencies to make available all resources and staff for the response effort.”
Officials issued an evacuation order for areas affected by the landslide and opened a shelter at the city’s high school.
Three people were transported to Ketchikan Medical Center following the landslide, which struck at about 4 p.m., the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and the City of Ketchikan said in a joint statement on Aug. 25, noting that one fatality was reported.
Between five and nine inches of rain fell in the mountains near Ketchikan in that same period, according to the NWS, which noted that at least one landslide was reported in Ketchikan because of the heavy rain.
The borough mayor, Rodney Dial, and the city mayor, Dave Kiffer, issued a separate declaration of emergency after the natural disaster.
Kiffer said that the loss of life in the landslide was “heartbreaking.”
“My heart goes out to those who lost their homes,” he said.
“In my 65 years in Ketchikan, I have never seen a slide of this magnitude. With the slides we have seen across the region, there is clearly a region-wide issue that we need to try to understand with the support of our State geologist.”
Officials said the possibility of a second landslide south of the original area is still a concern, and an evacuation order for areas of Ketchikan remains in effect.
Power was restored to several affected areas by 8:15 p.m. local time on Aug. 25, but other areas may be without power as the landslide is cleared away. Broken power poles also have to be replaced, according to the statement.
In a separate post, the city stated that residents will also experience traffic delays because of several road closures.
A Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management official and Department of Transportation personnel will head to the disaster area to evaluate whether a federal response is needed, according to the statement.
“I have directed state agencies to make available all resources and staff for the response effort,” the governor said in his Aug. 25 statement, noting that Alaska’s State Emergency Operations Center is giving assistance to Ketchikan.
Ketchikan, in southeastern Alaska, is located about 300 miles south of the state’s capital, Juneau. The city had a population of about 8,192 in the last Census, in 2020.
