Alaska Landslide Leaves 3 Missing; State of Emergency Declared in Sitka with ‘Grim’ Situation

The series of Sitka, Alaska landslides that took place on Tuesday left three people missing. Authorities said the three have been working on a housing development when the Alaska landslide, brought by heavy rains, occurred, according to CNN.

The three people missing after the incident include one fire marshal and two construction workers, officials said. According to the city website said, one house was also destroyed while another got heavily damaged,

A city spokesperson told NBC station KTTU that the Alaska landslides started around 10 a.m. Tuesday after the torrential downpour.

"We have had about two-and-a-half inches of rain in the last 24 hours and that caused three landslides and a sinkhole," said the city's public information officer, Sara Peterson.

Peterson added that 20 to 30 homes were ordered to evacuate the coastal city of Sitka, which is composed of about 9,000 people.

As of the current moment, there have been no further reports regarding injuries or calls for help, nor details on the three missing people.

Rescue workers are now said to be proceeding their search with caution as the area of the Alaska landslide is still unsafe, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, Sitka is now under a state of emergency. On Wednesday, Gov. Bill Walker is set to travel to the mountainous area in order to survey the damage brought on by the Alaska landslide.

"It's a very grim situation. Our prayers are going to go out to all those in Sitka," said Walker. "I think the weather has changed a bit, but still concerned about potential additional slides."

"Thank you to all the volunteers and emergency responders from the Sitka police and fire departments who are working so hard to protect the lives and property of Alaskans," he added.

According to the National Weather Service, in over 6 hours, there was already 2.57 inches of rain at Sitka Airport by around 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

"This type of landslide is typical for Alaska, especially our communities that are in our mountainous regions," said Jeremy Zidek of the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. "They get a lot of rainfall, those mountain sides get saturated and then landslides can happen."