Alaska Landslide Kills Girl, Leaves 5 People Missing

This file has been updated with information about the victims.
Five people are missing after a landslide near the Alaskan city of Wrangell killed a girl and injured a woman, per the AP. No information about either of them was immediately released. The slide, estimated at 450 feet wide, occurred Monday night in the southeastern part of the state after days of heavy rain, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Three homes were “directly in the path of the landslide” down a mountain, Alaska State Troopers said Tuesday. Ground searches are waiting for a geologist to finish assessing the slide, which was along the Zimovia Highway, for safety, per NBC News.

Drones were being brought from Juneau, and planes and helicopters were available for air searches. More slides are possible, troopers said in cautioning residents to stay out of the area. The highway was closed, but people could evacuate by water taxi. A community center in Wrangell was opened to evacuees. Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a verbal disaster declaration for the city, his office said Tuesday. The slide left bare earth from close to the top of the mountain to the ocean, clearing a path through large evergreen trees and leaving pieces of houses. About 2,000 people live in the remote fishing community, per the AP. (Read more Alaska stories.)