Sitka officials earlier said four people were missing before revising the figure to three.
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Search crews recovered a body from the Kramer Avenue landslide in Sitka, at about 7:15 this evening (Wed 8-19-15).
A landslide described by one witness as a sea of logs, mud and debris is believed to have trapped three people who were missing Tuesday from a neighborhood in the Alaska coastal town of Sitka.
Julie Baker, a spokeswoman for the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said that at Sitka’s request, they had sent an operations staff member and a public information officer to the town to help with the response. “Our prayers are going to go out to all those in Sitka”, he said.
Authorities believe the slide killed city building inspector William Stortz, 62, and brothers Elmer and Ulises Diaz, 26 and 25.
An office building just outside of town was evacuated late Tuesday morning because it is near one of the landslides. He said the two consistently worked hard and loved sports – particularly basketball. “It’s pretty devastating on how fast something like this can happen”, Simpson, a retired commercial fisherman, said in a phone interview from a saloon.
A state of emergency has been declared in Sitka, a town and borough of about 9,000 people located in the far southeast portion of the state, in a mountainous area. Zidek he says the survey found a majority of the debris in the landslide trough has already come down, lessening concerns about another slide. The picturesque fishing community, tucked between snowcapped mountains and the Pacific Ocean, is nestled in rain forest terrain on the west coast of Baranof Island that is characterized by heavy rains year-round.
Gov. Bill Walker is set to survey the damage in Sitka Wednesday.
“It has been raining like hell for the last 24 hours”, Schmitt said around noon Tuesday. More rain was expected.
The landslide is the result of heavy rain in southeast Alaska.
“I was the one who called her to tell her husband was missing in a landslide”, Gorman said. The rain also damaged a footbridge and trails, including one that had been repaired after flooding in January 2014.
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Kreiss-Tomkins recalled a landslide in May 2013 during which a Sitka couple narrowly escaped a cabin as a massive piece of mountain above it gave way.
