3 Dead — Including a Child — and 5 Others Missing Following Large Landslide in Alaska

One adult female was rescued Tuesday morning after the home she was in was hit by the landslide, according to authorities

The death toll from the large landslide in Alaska has risen as crews continue to search through the wreckage for victims.

Three people have been found dead and five others remain missing following Monday’s disaster at mile 11 on the Zimovia Highway in Wrangell, said Austin McDaniel, Communications Director for Alaska’s Department of Public Safety, in a news briefing on Tuesday.

A girl under the age of 18 was found dead Monday night during the initial search for victims, McDaniel reported. She and four others: two adults and two children, were inside their home when the slide occurred.

A drone operator also helped locate the bodies of two adults who were killed in the slide, according to a DPS news release. The victims' identities have not been released.

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At least five people — three adults and two children — are still believed to be missing. Two of the missing adults are believed to have been in one of two mountainside homes impacted by the slide, McDaniel said.

One adult female was rescued Tuesday morning. McDaniel said she lived at one of the residences on the mountainous side of the highway and “was in an upper level of the home when the landslide occurred.”

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Monday’s slide was about 500 feet wide at the point where it crossed the highway, according to Alaska’s Department of Transportation spokesperson Shannon McCarthy.

The slide occurred following a region-wide storm with heavy rain and high winds, she said at Tuesday's news conference.

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The landslide that impacted Wrangell is known as a “debris flow,” which occurs when heavy rainfall or rapid snowmelt puts extra moisture into the soil and causes the once-stable land to give way, according to Barrett Salisbury, a geologist with Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources.

Debris flows are “notably destructive,” according to Salisbury. However, he noted that events like Monday’s landslide can be difficult to predict without special equipment in place beforehand.

Future landslides in the area have not been ruled out, especially with more rain in the forecast. Authorities are asking residents to be aware of their surroundings and watch out for warning signs of another possible slide as wet weather continues in the region.

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“It looks like there’s a lot of moisture in the next week and that’s not a great forecast for being in and around that area,’ Salisbury said during Tuesday’s news conference.

The Coast Guard is assisting in the search for victims following Monday’s slide. Alaska state troopers are leading the search efforts.

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