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Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Fears Alaskan capital could disappear underwater as melting GLACIER sends torrents of floodwater rushing towards homes
Emergency managers are urging residents of Alaska 's capital, Juneau, to evacuate as glacial flooding from the Mendenhall River threatens to sweep through the city. Officials have recommended that residents within the 17-foot lake level inundation zone leave the area until the water recedes and an 'All Clear' message is sent via the wireless emergency alert system. In a Facebook post, officials said a glacial outburst has occurred at Suicide Basin, which is dammed by the Mendenhall Glacier that has experienced accelerated melting and retreat, primarily due to climate change. 'The basin is releasing, and flooding is expected along Mendenhall Lake and River late Tuesday through Wednesday,' they added. The river is expected to crest around 4pm local time (8pm ET) on August 13. Authorities are now racing against the clock to protect Mendenhall Valley, where most of Juneau's 32,000 residents live. They are relying on two miles of emergency flood barriers installed just last month, though officials warn the swelling waters could overwhelm them. A large glacial outburst can release as much as 15 billion gallons of water, the equivalent of nearly 23,000 Olympic-size swimming pools, according to the University of Alaska Southeast and the Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center. Nicole Ferrin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service (NWS), said: 'This will be a new record, based on all of the information that we have.' At 3:30am Wednesday, Mendenhall Lake's stage was 15.3 feet and rising, already within major flood stage, which begins at nine feet. Forecasts predict a record crest between 16.25 and 16.75 feet is expected between 8am and 12pm, with increasing confidence that the river will peak near 16.75 feet around 8am. Water levels are expected to drop below the major flood stage by Wednesday night. The NWS said that as water levels rise, flooding will progressively impact homes, roads and riverbanks along View Drive, Meander Way, River Road, and surrounding areas. Low-lying yards and backyards will begin to flood at around 11 feet, with roads becoming impassable and bank erosion increasing as levels climb. By 15 to 16 feet, multiple homes, intersections, and parts of Riverside Drive will experience major flooding, and by 17 feet, entire neighborhoods, including homes on Meadow Lane, businesses near Vintage Park Boulevard, and all of View Drive, could be inundated, with streets submerged and riverbanks overtopped. A glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) is very different from typical flooding caused by heavy rain or storms. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), glacial lakes form in small side valleys that have lost ice and become blocked by the main glacier or by natural rock and debris. Over time, these ice-free basins fill with water until the pressure becomes too great. The USGS explains that when the water forces a path beneath the glacier, it can suddenly release downstream, triggering a GLOF. 'These events are unpredictable and have caused significant loss of life and infrastructure worldwide,' the USGS said. 'Furthermore, it is unclear how these lake hazards may change as temperatures rise and glaciers continue to melt.' Many roads, including Mendenhall Loop Road, have been closed, along with facilities along the Mendenhall Valley Public Library, Diamond Park Field House, Diamond Park Aquatic Center and fields located along the river. 'The closure will remain in effect until water levels recede below 12 feet and bridge engineers complete a safety inspection,' officials said. A Red Cross shelter was set up for residents at Floyd Dryden Gymnasium. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has also issued a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) over a portion of the Mendenhall River until 8pm on August 19. 'No flights, including drones, are allowed in the TFR zone from the surface up to and including 400 feet AGL unless authorized by the Incident Commander and FAA Air Traffic Control,' the alert reads. The Mendenhall Glacier is about 12 miles from Juneau and is a popular tourist attraction due to its proximity to Alaska's capital city and easy access on walking trails. The only trails currently open are the Trail of Time and East Glacier. All other lake level trails, including Nugget Falls, Photo Point, and Moraine Ecology, are closed until further notice. Homes on the city's outskirts are within miles of Mendenhall Lake, which sits below the glacier, and many front the Mendenhall River. Flooding from the basin has been an annual concern since 2011, and in recent years, it has swept away houses and inundated hundreds of homes. This year, government agencies installed temporary barriers in an effort to protect several hundred homes in the inundation zone from widespread damage. The flooding occurs because a smaller glacier near the Mendenhall Glacier has retreated, a consequence of warming temperatures, leaving a basin that fills with rainwater and snowmelt each spring and summer. When the water builds enough pressure, it forces its way under or around the ice dam formed by the Mendenhall Glacier, spilling into Mendenhall Lake and eventually the Mendenhall River, as it did Tuesday. Before the basin reached its capacity and began overtopping, water levels were rising rapidly, up to four feet per day on especially sunny or rainy days, according to the NWS. Juneau experienced consecutive years of record flooding in 2023 and 2024. Last August, the river crested at 15.99 feet, about one foot above the previous record, with flooding spreading farther into Mendenhall Valley. This year, officials predicted the river would crest between 16.3 and 16.8 feet.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Major Warning Issued as 'Glacial Outburst' Threatens Record Flooding
Residents in Alaska have been warned to evacuate as snowmelt from the Mendenhall Glacier, which is about 12 miles from Juneau and is a popular tourist attraction, and heavy rains converge to threaten "record" flooding this week. 'A glacial outburst has occurred at Suicide Basin. The basin is releasing and flooding is expected along Mendenhall Lake and River,' Juneau officials said in a Tuesday news release. 'Officials recommend residents in the 17ft lake level inundation zone evacuate the area until the flood waters recede.' Residents In Juneau Warned Officials warned those near Juneau to evacuate the area after they confirmed water started escaping into a huge basin dammed by the glacier. Residents in the area along the river were warned as the water that's being released in the glacial outburst is flowing into the river, putting homes that are closest to the river at risk. The National Weather Service said it expected flooding to peak at 4 p.m. local time Wednesday. 'This will be a new record, based on all of the information that we have,' Nicole Ferrin, a weather service meteorologist, told a news conference Tuesday. What Is Suicide Basin? Suicide Basin is a glacial lake attached to the Mendenhall Glacier that runs up against the western portion of Juneau, per CNN. The basin formed as parts of its glacier melted and retreated and now acts like a giant bucket, filling up with rain, snow and ice that slowly melts over the summer. On Wednesday morning the Mendenhall River eclipsed its record high level of 15.99 feet after rising more than seven feet since the National Weather Service first issues a flood warning for the area on Tuesday. It's expected to crest at around 16.7 feet sometime Wednesday morning, well above the previous record crest set just last August. 'It's very dangerous right now. Stay away if you can,' said Andrew Park, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Juneau, warning any mariners in the area to 'keep your eyes peeled for big trees.'Major Warning Issued as 'Glacial Outburst' Threatens Record Flooding first appeared on Men's Journal on Aug 13, 2025
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
A glacier outburst sent a surge of water downstream into Juneau. Flood barriers protected the city from disaster
For the third consecutive year, a wave of water gushed out of an Alaskan glacial lake, threatening the state's capital city of Juneau. But, flood barriers installed by the city managed to prevent disaster from unfolding in the picturesque port town despite record-breaking water levels this week. The outburst began Tuesday at Suicide Basin, a glacial lake attached to the Mendenhall Glacier that runs up against the western portion of Juneau, about 10 miles from the city's center. The basin formed as parts of its glacier melted and retreated and now acts like a giant bucket, filling up with rain, snow and ice that slowly melts over the summer. Eventually, Suicide Basin gets so full that it escapes the surrounding ice of the Mendenhall Glacier. When that happens, water gushes out into the nearby Mendenhall Lake and eventually surges down the river. The Mendenhall River, which flows along the west side of the city, eclipsed its previous record high level of 15.99 feet Wednesday morning after rising more than 7 feet in under 24 hours. It crested at a new record of 16.65 feet Wednesday morning, according to the weather service, well above the previous record crest set just last August. River levels started dropping quickly not long after and by mid-afternoon the river had decreased to 10 feet. Lingering minor flooding will continue into Wednesday evening, but the river is expected to return to normal Thursday. How flood barriers protected the city While the Mendenhall River reached a new record high during this year's event, the worst-case scenario was avoided largely due to flood prevention efforts made by state and local officials in response to past flooding. A similar glacier outburst last year unleashed destructive flooding that impacted more than 100 homes in Juneau. City officials characterized the flood severity as 'unprecedented.' The river level in 2024 topped the one reached during 2023's early August glacial flood by a full foot. Last year, a flood barrier was installed in flood-prone areas where roughly 1,000 residents and businesses reside, according to a city spokesperson. Some of the resources that helped keep floodwaters at bay were provided by the Army Corps of Engineers earlier this year, an official said, including about 37,800 feet of HESCO barrier, which are sturdy modular bags filled with sand used to assist in blocking floodwaters – these bags are beneficial during natural disasters like flash flooding and hurricanes, according to HESCO's website. Over 100,000 sandbags were also used to mitigate flooding, according to Brig. Gen. Joseph Goetz, commander and division engineer for the US Army Corps of Engineers Pacific Ocean Division. HESCO is a company that manufactures barrier systems. Local authorities have been working with the US Army Corps of Engineers to monitor the barriers. 'The HESCO barriers really have protected our community. If it weren't for them, we would have hundreds and hundreds of flooded homes,' Juneau City Manager Katie Koester said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. Water was seeping through some of the barriers, but they had not been breached, according to a Wednesday morning update from the city. 'That being said, there still will be impacts, there still will be flooded homes and we will be working… to assess that damage and help our residents,' Koester added. There were no rescues or incidents involving the water as Wednesday afternoon, according to Sam Russell, assistant fire chief for Capital City Fire/Rescue, which serves the city and borough of Juneau. Russell urged the public to stay away from any flooded areas until crews could assess the situation. On Sunday, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a preemptive disaster declaration to better streamline emergency response efforts to the outburst. 'By issuing this declaration before the flood occurs, we can position state resources and personnel in advance to support local and tribal governments in their efforts to protect lives, homes, and essential services,' Dunleavy said in a statement. 'Our goal is to act early to reduce impacts and preserve community safety.' The capital of Alaska, Juneau has a population of about 33,000, according to the the US Census Bureau. The city is surrounded by coastal waters to the west and south. Why does this keep happening? The glacial lake outbursts have become a regular occurrence since 2011 and have worsened considerably each year since 2023. They are yet another consequence of climate change due to fossil fuel pollution. The Arctic, including Alaska, is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet as global temperatures rise. This is causing glaciers, like these in Alaska, to thin or melt altogether. Rising temperatures have severely reduced the expanse of the Mendenhall Glacier and its Suicide Basin, creating the annual glacial lake outburst hazard as ice gets replaced by liquid water and rises closer and closer to that 'bathtub' edge throughout the summer. Studies in recent years have shown that between 10 and 15 million people globally are exposed to impacts of glacial lake outburst flooding like what's unfolding in Juneau. Glaciers are melting and losing mass globally at an increasingly rapid rate as the world warms, producing more and larger glacial lakes, a 2024 study found. The uptick in number and size of glacial lakes is expected to increase the frequency of outburst flooding events in the future. CNN's Eric Zerkel, Chris Boyette, Zenebou Sylla and CNN Meteorologist Briana Waxman contributed to this report.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Glacial lake flood hits Juneau, Alaska, reflecting a growing risk as mountain glaciers melt around the world
Each summer in the mountains above Juneau, Alaska, meltwater from the massive Mendenhall Glacier flows into mountain lakes and into the Mendenhall River, which runs through town. Since 2011, scientists and local officials have kept a close eye on one lake in particular: Suicide Basin, an ice-dammed bowl on an arm of the glacier. The glacier once covered this area, but as the ice retreated in recent decades, it left behind a large, deep depression. In the summers of 2023 and 2024, meltwater filled Suicide Basin, overflowed its rim and escaped through tunnels in the ice, sending surges of water downstream that flooded neighborhoods along the river. On Aug. 12-13, 2025, Suicide Basin flooded again. The surge of water from Suicide Basin reached record levels at Mendenhall Lake on Aug. 13 on its way toward Juneau. Officials urged some neighborhoods to evacuate. As the water rose, new emergency flood barriers appeared to have limited the damage. The glacial flood risks that Juneau is now experiencing each summer are becoming a growing problem in communities around the world. As an Earth scientist and a mountain geographer, we study the impact that ice loss can have on the stability of the surrounding mountain slopes and glacial lakes, and we see several reasons for increasing concern. The growing risk of glacial floods In many mountain ranges, glaciers are melting as global temperatures rise. Europe's Alps and Pyrenees lost 40% of their glacier volume from 2000 to 2023. These and other icy regions have provided freshwater for people living downstream for centuries – almost 2 billion people rely on glaciers today. But as glaciers melt faster, they also pose potentially lethal risks. Water from the melting ice often drains into depressions once occupied by the glacier, creating large lakes. Many of these expanding lakes are held in place by precarious ice dams or rock moraines deposited by the glacier over centuries. Too much water behind these dams or a landslide or large ice discharge into the lake can break the dam, sending huge volumes of water and debris sweeping down the mountain valleys, wiping out everything in the way. The Mendenhall Glacier floods, where glacial ice holds back the water, are classic jökulhlaup, or 'glacier leap' floods, first described in Iceland and now characteristic of Alaska and other northern latitude regions. Erupting ice dams and landslides Most glacial lakes began forming over a century ago as a result of warming trends since the 1860s, but their abundance and rates of growth have risen rapidly since the 1960s. Many people living in the Himalayas, Andes, Alps, Rocky Mountains, Iceland and Alaska have experienced glacial lake outburst floods of one type or another. A glacial lake outburst flood in the Sikkim Himalayas in October 2023 damaged more than 30 bridges and destroyed a 200-foot-high (60 meters) hydropower plant. Residents had little warning. By the time the disaster was over, more than 50 people had died. Avalanches, rockfalls and slope failures can also trigger glacial lake outburst floods. These are growing more common as frozen ground known as permafrost thaws, robbing mountain landscapes of the cryospheric glue that formerly held them together. These slides can create massive waves when they plummet into a lake. The waves can then rupture the ice dam or moraine, unleashing a flood of water, sediment and debris. That dangerous mix can rush downstream at speeds of 20-60 mph (30-100 kph), destroying homes and anything else in its path. The casualties of such an event can be staggering. In 1941, a huge wave caused by a snow and ice avalanche that fell into Laguna Palcacocha, a glacial lake in the Peruvian Andes, overtopped the moraine dam that had contained the lake for decades. The resulting flood destroyed one-third of the downstream city of Huaraz and killed between 1,800 and 5,000 people. In the years since, the danger there has only increased. Laguna Palcacocha has grown to more than 14 times its size in 1941. At the same time, the population of Huaraz has risen to over 120,000 inhabitants. A glacial lake outburst flood today could threaten the lives of an estimated 35,000 people living in the water's path. Governments have responded to this widespread and growing threat by developing early warning systems and programs to identify potentially dangerous glacial lakes. In Juneau, the U.S. Geological Survey starts monitoring Suicide Basin closely when it begins to fill. Some governments have taken steps to lower water levels in the lakes or built flood-diversion structures, such as walls of rock-filled wire cages, known as gabions, that divert floodwaters from villages, infrastructure or agricultural fields. Where the risks can't be managed, communities have been encouraged to use zoning that prohibits building in flood-prone areas. Public education has helped build awareness of the flood risk, but the disasters continue. Flooding from inside and thawing permafrost The dramatic nature of glacial lake outburst floods captures headlines, but those aren't the only risks. Englacial conduit floods originate inside of glaciers, commonly on steep slopes. Meltwater can collect inside massive systems of ice caves, or conduits. A sudden surge of water from one cave to another, perhaps triggered by the rapid drainage of a surface pond, can set off a chain reaction that bursts out of the ice as a full-fledged flood. Thawing mountain permafrost can also trigger floods. This permanently frozen mass of rock, ice and soil has been a fixture at altitudes above 19,685 feet (6,000 meters) for millennia. As permafrost thaws, even solid rock becomes less stable and is more prone to breaking, while ice and debris are more likely to become detached and turn into destructive and dangerous debris flows. Thawing permafrost has been increasingly implicated in glacial lake outburst floods because of these new sources of potential triggers. How mountain regions can reduce the risk A study published in 2024 counted more than 110,000 glacial lakes around the world and determined 10 million people's lives and homes are at risk from glacial lake outburst floods. To help prepare and protect communities, our research points to some key lessons: Some of the most effective early warning systems have proven to be cellphone alerts. If combined with apps showing real-time water levels at a dangerous glacial lake, residents could more easily assess the danger. Projects to lower glacier lakes aren't always effective. In the past, at least two glacial lakes in the Himalayas have been lowered by about 10 feet (3 meters) when studies indicated that closer to 65 feet (20 meters) was needed. In some cases, draining small, emerging lakes before they develop could be more cost effective than waiting until a large and dangerous lake threatens downstream communities. People living in remote mountain regions threatened by glacial lakes need a reliable source of information that can provide regular updates with monitoring technology. Recently it has become clear that even tiny glacial lakes can be dangerous given the right combination of cascading events. These need to be included in any list of potentially dangerous glacial lakes to warn communities downstream. The U.N. declared 2025 the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation and 2025-2034 the decade of action in cryospheric sciences. Scientists on several continents will be working to understand the risks and find ways to help communities respond to and mitigate the dangers. This is an update to an article originally published March 19, 2025, to include the latest Alaska flooding. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Alton C. Byers, University of Colorado Boulder and Suzanne OConnell, Wesleyan University Read more: We've been studying a glacier in Peru for 14 years – and it may reach the point of no return in the next 30 The water cycle is intensifying as the climate warms, IPCC report warns – that means more intense storms and flooding Where America's CO2 emissions come from – what you need to know, in charts Suzanne OConnell receives funding from The National Science Foundation Alton C. Byers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Wall Street Journal
5 days ago
- Climate
- Wall Street Journal
Alaska's Glacier Flood Threat Prompts Juneau to Urge Evacuations
A melting glacier in Juneau, Alaska, is pouring water into a lake and river that runs through the state's capital, threatening the area with historic flooding for the third straight year. The Suicide Basin, adjacent to the Mendenhall Glacier above Juneau, has been gushing water into the Mendenhall Lake and Mendenhall River since Tuesday. The National Weather Service projects the Mendenhall River will crest Wednesday morning, which could lead to catastrophic flooding.
