(CNN) — A girl was found dead and five others are still missing after a large landslide covered a highway near a remote community in southeast Alaska on Monday, according to the state’s Department of Public Safety.
The landslide was reported Monday around 9 p.m. local time on the Zimovia Highway near Wrangell, and a preliminary survey by emergency responders determined it had walloped three single-family residences in its path, the department said in a release Tuesday. State troopers have assumed command of the search and rescue effort, although ground search efforts are temporarily paused until the slide can be assessed for safety issues by a geologist, they said.
The girl who died was found during initial search and rescue efforts Monday night, public safety department spokesperson Austin McDaniel told CNN. He did not provide the girl’s age.
Three adults and two juveniles remain missing, McDaniel said. One woman was rescued and is receiving medical treatment, he said, noting she is in good condition.
It has been wet in recent days — typical for this time of year there — but it was particularly rainy on Sunday and Monday, with more than 3 inches of rain falling around Wrangell in the 24 hours leading up to the landslide, Andy Park, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Juneau, told CNN.
Park said winds of 61 to 87 mph Monday evening may have been a factor in the landslides as well.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has issued a disaster declaration in Wrangell after the deadly landslide, his office posted on social media.
Alaska’s Department of Public Safety urges people not to enter the slide area as it has been active throughout the night and additional landslides are possible.
Alaska’s Department of Transportation shared an image of the landslide on Facebook which the agency estimates to be 450 feet wide, with a significant debris field, according to the post.
CNN reached out to Alaska’s Department of Public Safety for updates.
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