Alaska couple escapes deadly landslide, loses everything

James Montiver, 70, was relaxing on his sofa early on Sunday evening when he suddenly heard a loud roar and saw a bright flash of light.

“The whole house was shaking like a roller coaster. It all happened so quickly, next thing I knew I was flying in the air,” he told CNN from his hospital room.

Montiver was thrown into the ceiling of his home as the structure collapsed on itself in the force of the landslide sweeping through his Ketchikan neighbourhood in Alaska.

He suffered four fractured ribs and a dislocated shoulder but, protected by a small triangle of space created by the sofa, he escaped the destruction with his life.

He was one victim of a landslide in the coastal city of Ketchikan in southern Alaska on Sunday that left one person dead and three others injured.

Some residents have been ordered to evacuate as officials warn another slide could strike nearby.

Montiver hopes the emergency declaration helps.

“We lost absolutely everything,” said Montiver. The couple had just sold their house and were scheduled to close the deal the same week.

The Montivers had a house in Puerto Rico awaiting them, but fear it’s also lost due to lack of insurance coverage.

Emergency shelter is available at a local high school, and response crews are on standby in case of another slide.

Ketchikan, nestled along Alaska’s Inside Passage, is now facing the aftermath of the devastating landslide.