One person died and three others were injured on Aug. 25, after a landslide that began in a forested hillside swept down into Ketchikan in the wake of unusually heavy rain known as an atmospheric river.
Ketchikan Gateway Borough and the City of Ketchikan on Aug. 26 identified the man killed by the landslide as Sean Griffin, a member of the City of Ketchikan Public Works team for 17 years, who responded to a call for assistance during his scheduled time off. Griffin and another team member were clearing storm drains when they were caught in the landslide on the Third Avenue Bypass.
Borough and city officials said Griffin was a beloved husband, father, son, neighbor and coworker who spent his life serving his family and his community, and that he’ll be remembered for his dedication, positive spirit and unwavering devotion to his family, friends and community.
Authorities said three injured people were taken to Ketchikan Medical Center, where one was treated and released and two others were admitted.
The late afternoon landslide on Sunday smashed into several residences of the 14,000 resident-fishing community, where four cruise ships had been expected to dock the next day. A mandatory evacuation order was issued for homes in that area and the Ketchikan High School was set up as an emergency shelter.
Authorities with the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and City of Ketchikan said a potential secondary landslide area was identified south of the original location and response crews were standing by.
The area where four cruise ships were expected to dock on Aug. 26 was not impacted, but the city had closed the popular Rainbird Trail to hikers because of damage to a section of trail.
“In my 65 years in Ketchikan, I have never seen a slide of this magnitude,” said Ketchikan Mayor Dave Kiffer. “With the slides we have seen across the region, there is clearly a region-wide issue that we need to try to understand with the support of our state geologist. The loss of life that we have encountered is heartbreaking, and my heart goes out to those who lost their homes.”
Dave Petley, author of The Landslide Blog and vice-chancellor of the University of Hull in England, told the New York Times that globally this year has been “exceptional in terms of fatal landslides.” Petley said at least 430 fatal landslides worldwide have led to more than 3,600 deaths so far in 2024. He pinpointed possible causes on high intensity rainstorms and rising global surface temperatures.
In Southeast Alaska, atmospheric rivers are believed to be a major factor in landslides. Atmospheric rivers are large, narrow sections of the Earth’s atmosphere that carry moisture from the Earth’s tropics near the equator to the poles. On average, the Earth has four to five active atmospheric rivers at any time. These waterways carry massive amounts of moisture, moving the equivalent of the liquid water that flows through the mouth of the Amazon River. When these rivers reach land, they release their moisture, producing heavy snow and rain.
Atmospheric rivers are a major factor in the formation of clouds and therefore have a significant influence on air temperatures, sea ice and other climate components.
In November of 2023, six people — including five from the same family — died in a landslide that struck two homes in Wrangell. The deaths of three people in Sitka in 2015 and two people in Haines in 2020 were also blamed on landslides that came with heavy rain.
