Current:Home > MySearch resumes for the missing after landslide leaves 3 dead in Alaska fishing community -MoneyMatrix
Search resumes for the missing after landslide leaves 3 dead in Alaska fishing community
View
Date:2025-04-15 14:44:56
WRANGELL, Alaska (AP) — Ground search teams returned Thursday to the site of a massive landslide that killed three to search for an adult and two juveniles who remain missing, officials said.
K-9 teams plan to search along the waterline by small boat and will join ground teams in the slide area at multiple areas of interest, said Austin McDaniel, a spokesperson with the Alaska Department of Public Safety. Searchers used heat-sensing drones and a cadaver-dog on Wednesday but had no luck.
Monday night’s slide churned up the earth from near the top of the mountain down to the ocean, tearing down a wide swath of evergreen trees and burying a highway in the island community of Wrangell, about 155 miles (250 kilometers) south of Juneau. Rescue crews found the body of a girl in an initial search Monday night and the bodies of two adults late Tuesday.
Around 54 homes are cut off from town by the landslide, and roughly 35 to 45 people have chosen to stay in that area, interim borough manager Mason Villarma said. Boats are being used to provide supplies, including food, fuel and water, and prescription medications to those residents. Given the geography of the island — with the town at the northern point and houses along a 13-mile (20.9-kilometer) stretch of paved road — currently “the ocean is our only access to those residences,” he said.
Wrangell usually celebrates Thanksgiving with a tree lighting and downtown shopping events but could replace that with a vigil, he said.
In that way, the town “can come together physically and recognize the tragedy and the loss of life ... but also the triumph of a small community that’s really come together and been able to pull off some remarkable successes, even in the face of all this adversity,” Villarma said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.
The state transportation department said on social media Wednesday that the process of clearing the highway would only begin once search and rescue efforts were complete. There was no immediate timeline for when that portion of the highway would reopen.
A woman who had been on the upper floor of a home was rescued Tuesday. She was in good condition and undergoing medical care. One of the three homes that was struck was unoccupied, McDaniel said Tuesday.
Because of the hazards of searching an unstable area, a geologist from the state transportation department was brought in to conduct a preliminary assessment, clearing some areas of the slide for ground searches. But authorities warned of a threat of additional landslides.
The slide — estimated to be 450 feet (137 meters) wide — occurred during rain and a windstorm. Wrangell received about 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain from early Monday until late evening, with wind gusts up to 60 mph (96 kph) at higher elevations, said Aaron Jacobs, a National Weather Service hydrologist and meteorologist in Juneau.
It was part of a strong storm system that moved through southeast Alaska, bringing heavy snow in places and blizzard-like conditions to the state capital Juneau as well as rainfall with minor flooding further south.
Jacobs said the rainfall Wrangell received on Monday wasn’t unusual, but the strong winds could have helped trigger the slide.
Saturated soil can give way when gusts blow trees on a slope, said Barrett Salisbury, a geologist with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.
Wrangell is one of the oldest non-Alaska Native settlements in the state — founded in 1811 when Russians began trading with Tlingits, according to a state database of Alaska communities. Indigenous people long lived in the area before outside contact. Tlingits, Russians, the British and Americans all accounted for historical influences on Wrangell.
veryGood! (56)
Related
- Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
- Royal Caribbean cruise passenger goes overboard on Spectrum of the Seas ship
- Potential witness in alleged Missouri kidnapping, rape case found dead
- Sydney Sweeney Wishes She Could Give Angus Cloud One More Hug In Gut-Wrenching Tribute
- Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
- Iran’s Revolutionary Guard runs drill on disputed islands as US military presence in region grows
- Black bear, cub euthanized after attacking man opening his garage door in Idaho
- Pee-wee Herman and the complications of talking about people after they die
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- Pope Francis can expect to find heat and hope in Portugal, along with fallout from sex abuse scandal
Ranking
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- Jury resumes deliberations over death penalty or life in prison for Pittsburgh synagogue shooter
- SAG-AFTRA is worried about AI, but can it really replace actors? It already has.
- China floods have left at least 20 dead
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- 'Barbie' studio apologizes for 'insensitive' response to 'Barbenheimer' atomic bomb meme
- Did anyone win Mega Millions last night? See Aug. 1 winning numbers for $1.25B jackpot.
- California firm to pay $1 million for selling devices to thwart diesel truck smog controls
Recommendation
Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
Kendall Jenner Rocks Sexy Sheer Ensemble for Her Latest Date Night With Bad Bunny
China floods have left at least 20 dead
Appeals court reinstates lawsuit by Honduran woman who says ICE agent repeatedly raped her
Average rate on 30
Mideast countries that are already struggling fear price hikes after Russia exits grain deal
The Mega Millions jackpot has soared to $1.25 billion. Here’s how hard it is to win
Fitch downgrades US credit rating, citing mounting debt and political divisions