Sitka debris flow hazards

Project Details

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• Project ID:

  1553

• Nickname/Abbreviation:

  Sitka landslide

• Parent Project:

  Alaska Landslide Hazards Program

• Status:

  Active

• Description:

  Response to August 18, 2015, Kramer (Harbor Mountain) landslides, Sitka, Alaska. Subsequent work to coordinate initial lidar data collection by the Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Sitka, and conduct subsequent DGGS lidar data collection. Lidar imagery and field data are being used to evaluate potential landslide hazards. CRREL lidar data collection funded by the National Park Service (Grant # P15AC01879) and DGGS lidar data collection was funded by State of Alaska General Fund and National Park Service (Grant #P17AS00903); lidar analysis and landslide evaluation funded by FEMA (2016 CTP Grant # EMS-2016-CA-00006).
  This study aims to develop a debris flow hazard map for the City of Sitka. We use lidar, field observations, and computer modeling to understand where debris flows could happen in the future. Follow-on work funded by RAND Corporation to collaborate with Sitka Sound Science Center and other partners to develop Landslide Early Warning System (LEWS), including installation of high-elevation weather station on Harbor Mountain.

• Project Date(s):

  2015 - present

• Primary Contact:

  Wolken, Gabriel J.

• DGGS section:

  Geologic Hazards

• Alternate Url:

  Find out more...

• Project Participants:

  De Anne S. P. Stevens, Trent D. Hubbard, Gabriel J. Wolken, Alex I. Gould, Erin N. Whorton, Ronnie P. Daanen, Katreen M. Wikstrom Jones, Andrew M. Herbst

Publications

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RDF 2026-19

Zechmann, J.M., Wolken, G.J., Daanen, R.P., Wikstrom Jones, K.M., and Herbst, A.M., 2026, Lidar-derived elevation data for Sitka, Southeast Alaska, collected April 27-29, 2018, and September 27-28, 2019: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Raw Data File 2026-19, 14 p. https://doi.org/10.14509/32132

RI 2024-2

Hubbard, T.D., Daanen, R.P., and Stevens, D.S.P., 2025, Debris flow hazard evaluations for multi-hazard risk mapping in Sitka, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Report of Investigation 2024-2, 14 p., 6 sheets, scale 1:20,000. https://doi.org/10.14509/30187

RDF 2020-13

Daanen, R.P., Wolken, G.J., and Herbst, A.M., 2020, Lidar-derived elevation data for Sitka, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Raw Data File 2020-13, 11 p. https://doi.org/10.14509/30531

Posters and Presentations

Hubbard, T.D. and Daanen, R.P., 2025

Hubbard, T.D., and Daanen, R.P., 2025, Debris flow hazard evaluation in Sitka, Alaska (poster): American Geophysical Union Conference, December 9-13, 2024: Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, 1 sheet. https://doi.org/10.14509/31474