DOT spokesperson Shannon McCarthy said the weather this week -- alternately freezing and thawing -- was likely the culprit.
Jeffrey Cheng, 33, died in the slide. One of his friends managed to hold on to a tree as waves of avalanche debris washed over his head. The third member of their group wasn’t caught.
Temperatures in the area were unseasonably high last week, reaching into the mid-40s, according to the National Weather Service. Then temperatures dropped below freezing Sunday and into Monday morning. "There's a lot of water flowing underground in this area," McCarthy said. The freeze-thaw "caused some instability and that made it slide."
The avalanche north of Girdwood affected three lanes of traffic for several hours. Delays are expected Tuesday morning as crews attempt to thwart additional slides.
About 145 customers in the area were without power on Friday due to damaged equipment, according to Matanuska Electric Association. It’ll likely be at least several days before the road may be cleared.
At least 36 ships will skip scheduled stops in Skagway this summer because the cruise dock closed after a landslide sent debris toppling from the mountain above.
“This has been a very trying time,” mother Tanisha Charles said. “You don’t prepare for this. You think of fires, you think of earthquakes, but you never think of a mudslide in the middle of town.”
The avalanche came after two days of heavy snow followed by two days of heavy rain. The community had to wait several days before linemen could get to Chignik to repair the damage to its power system.
An East Hillcrest Ave. home was damaged in a mudslide brought by heavy rains Thursday afternoon.
A mother and child lost their lives in an avalanche on Tuesday while skiing at Pallastunturi in northwestern Finnish Lapland.
An amber rain warning has been extended for the north and east of Scotland, causing severe flooding and travel disruptions, with the Scottish government urging people to heed travel warnings and take precautions. Some areas have seen up to a month's worth of rain in a 24-hour period resulting in heavy flooding across much of the rail network.
A devastating landslide in Papua New Guinea buried over 2,000 people, prompting the government to seek international aid amidst challenges posed by unreliable census data and the destruction of a main highway.
At least 100 dead and nearly two thousand are homeless after rounds of heavy rain and thunderstorms have led to severe flooding and landslides across Kenya in recent days.
Each of the latest escarpment slides over the weekend were larger than the initial slide on April 30
Rain across J&K, fresh snowfall at higher reaches Gopal Sharma JAMMU, Apr 17: Rain across J&K UT and the snowfall on the higher reaches has thrown
Two heavy rainstorms caused flooding and landslides in the upper valley last week, damaging infrastructure and leaving two residents temporarily trapped in their vehicle.
DES MOINES, Wash. - Drier weather on Wednesday helped to lessen the landslide threat across Western Washington, but another system will be moving in later in the week, increasing the threat by Friday.
The consequences of heavy and persistent rainfall continue to impact Costa Rica on Friday, particularly in the canton of Turrialba and on the Caribbean.
Tribune News ServiceShimla, August 27 Heavy rain lashed several parts of the state, triggering landslides that blocked 272 roads and disrupting normal life. The Met office has forecast heavy rain in
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