Three people are dead and three others, including two under 18 years old, are believed missing after a landslide swept down a slope Monday night in Alaska, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A woman was rescued Tuesday from the landslide, which struck just before 9 p.m. Monday near Wrangell in southeast Alaska, state Department of Public Safety spokesman Austin McDaniel said. The woman is in good condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A girl was found dead in the landslide area Monday in the initial search, McDaniel said. Her age wasn\u2019t released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Tuesday, a drone operator spotted the bodies of two adults, which have been retrieved, the Public Safety Department said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two juveniles and an adult are still believed missing, it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRight now, the major focus is on search and rescue,\u201d Mark Roberts, the state homeland security division incident commander, said at a news briefing earlier Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three homes were hit by the landslide, McDaniel said. It happened by and across the Zimovia Highway, which runs along the western coast on Wrangell Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Local search-and-rescue teams are assisting agencies in the search. There had been concerns over stability, but the north slope has become more stable since the landslide, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such landslides are known as \u201cdebris flows,\u201d and they are a risk in southeastern Alaska, where there are steep slopes, state Department of Natural Resources geologist Barrett Salisbury said. Heavy rain and snowmelts increase the risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe debris flow occurs when the soil becomes so saturated it no longer has the strength to hold itself in place,\u201d Salisbury said. The flows send a mixture of soil, water, rock and things like trees downslope, and they can travel up to around 35 mph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There had been a storm with heavy precipitation and high winds before the slide, state Transportation Department spokesperson Shannon McCarthy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Signs that a landslide could occur include new springs or water flowing where it didn\u2019t before, bulging in pavement, shifts in structures like porches, titling trees and a rumbling sound, Salisbury said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Folks nearby need to be on high alert,” he said, because a landslide means the conditions exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Twenty to 30 people have been displaced, officials said. The slide is estimated to have been 500 feet across where it crossed the highway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a disaster declaration for Wrangell, which is on the southern part of the Alaska Panhandle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRose and I are heartbroken by this disaster, and we pray for the safety of all those on site and offer all the resources our state has available,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Authorities ask anyone with someone unaccounted-for to report that person to Wrangell police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n