August 15, 2023, by Lisa Teas Conaway

Saturday, August 12th, 2023, brought a significant storm to Sitka. We experienced 4.42 inches of rainfall within a 24 hour period, breaking a previously held record of 4.22 inches set back in 1961 according to Meteorologist Pete Boyd of Juneau. During this storm we saw our Landslide alert level raise to medium risk. Thankfully we did not experience any landslides in Sitka where people live, but one was reported in Crawfish Inlet just 30 nautical miles south of Sitka.

This storm was a real-life test of our landslide warning system. Development of the system began after an extreme landslide event back in 2015 resulting in loss of lives. Because of the initiative of our fellow scientists and community members we now have a working alert system that everyone can access at SitkaLandslide.org

You can read more about our research and the expanding Kutí project here.

Please remember that community engagement makes a difference, ask questions, and get involved by reporting landslide or land movement to landslides@sitkascience.org

Visit SitkaLandslide.org for more information.

Image of Crawfish Inlet taken after the storm by Moses Johnson.