6 people were missing after a mudslide measuring an estimated two football fields across slammed into a neighborhood in the southeast Alaska community of Haines, Alaska State Troopers said Wednesday.
The following written content by Becky Bohrer and Mark Thiessen
JUNEAU, Alaska — Six people were missing after a mudslide measuring an estimated two football fields across slammed into a neighborhood in the southeast Alaska community of Haines, Alaska State Troopers said Wednesday.
It was one of several reported mudslides after a period of intense rain that authorities said destroyed at least four houses and damaged others.
Search and rescue efforts were suspended Wednesday evening as rains continued to batter the area. A flash flood warning was in effect until late Wednesday. Haines Borough Mayor Douglas Olerud told The Associated Press search efforts will resume Thursday morning.
“The soil isn’t stable enough right now,” he said, adding the state will be providing additional resources Thursday. The borough has about 2,500 residents.
Those unaccounted for were in the Beach Road area, where the largest slide — about 600 feet (183 meters) wide — came down Wednesday afternoon, Olerud said. About 9 feet (2.7 meters) of mud and trees cover the area, according to the troopers.
About 30 people were evacuated, and emergency response crews rescued others, Olerud said. He did not have a total figure.
Rebecca Kameika lives on Beach Road, though closer to Haines than where the slide hit. She said slides and related road damage had left some neighborhoods inaccessible.
She and her boyfriend were staying at his place of work; they were fine and expected their home to be, too, but evacuated as a precaution, she said.
The incident is devastating for the community, said Kameika, who set up a fundraising account and plans to work with another group to make sure the money is distributed fairly and where it’s needed.
Haines resident Luke Williams said the community is coming together. This rainstorm has been the “worst I have ever seen,” he said, adding he’s lived in the area throughout his 39 years.
“That’s the one thing special about this small town. Everyone comes together no matter how mad one person is at another. In the end if there is an emergency we all come together to help each other,” he said.
An effort to fly search and rescue teams in a helicopter from Juneau was pushed back to Thursday morning, troopers said. The Coast Guard is also deploying forces from other ports in southeast Alaska to help. Read more from The Washington Post.
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