4 missing after landslide in Sitka, Alaska

In Sitka, Alaska, four people were unaccounted for Tuesday after a landslide hit a housing development.

Three contractors working at the site are among the missing, CNN reports. Police Chief Sheldon Schmitt said heavy rains caused the landslide in the city of 9,000 in Alaska's panhandle. "We are not able to do anything on the ground as far as search and rescue because the ground is so unstable," Schmitt said. "A significant part of the hillside has come down. Homeland Security is coming to assess the situation.... We are sitting tight right now because it's so unstable, and it's continuing to rain."

The city of Sitka posted on its website that one house was destroyed and another damaged in the landslide. Sitka's public information officer said a total of three landslides have hit the city, and between 20 to 30 homes have been evacuated. A state of emergency has been declared for the city and borough.

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