Downtown Juneau apartment building evacuated following landslide

A landslide connected Gastineau Avenue successful Juneau, Alaska connected Sunday, July 14, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)

A landslide connected Gastineau Avenue precocious Sunday greeting displaced astatine slightest 7 group successful nan Strasbaugh Apartments building. 

According to Tom Mattice, nan city’s Emergency Programs Manager, nary injuries aliases awesome harm to nan building has been reported, but metropolis officials recommended residents evacuate arsenic a precaution. 

Heavy rainfall triggered nan slide, which brought down immoderate trees, ample debris and mud onto nan road. Mattice said 2 much slides person besides occurred successful downtown Juneau arsenic of Sunday afternoon, and much are apt arsenic nan rainfall continues. 

“We could decidedly spot much events complete nan adjacent mates of days,” he said. “People who unrecorded successful nan affected areas should beryllium reasoning astir their safety, and if they take to aforesaid evacuate aliases walk nan nighttime astatine a friend’s house, it’s ne'er a bad idea.”

The National Weather Service Juneau has issued a flood watch through Monday evening, and important rainfall is expected done Tuesday.

Police artifact car postulation connected Gastineau Avenue aft a landslide successful Juneau, Alaska connected Sunday, July 14, 2024. (Clarise Larson/KTOO)

“The bottommost statement is, is if you’re astatine nan guidelines of a large hill, you’re going to spot a batch of h2o coming disconnected that hill. And sooner aliases later, you whitethorn spot mud pinch it,” Mattice said.

City Manager Katie Koester said nan metropolis is not evacuating immoderate much group astatine nan moment. 

“This is nan opening of a three-day rainfall event, truthful it’s going to get wetter,” she said. “If group person location other safe to enactment for nan nighttime aliases a couple, mightiness not beryllium a bad idea. But that’s a individual determination correct now.”

Gastineau Avenue was nan tract of another landslide that displaced residents and heavy damaged a location successful September 2022.

According to Deputy City Manager Robert Barr, evacuations for residents of the Strasbaugh Apartments person been voluntary truthful acold per recommendations from nan city. The Red Cross is assisting displaced residents.