Parts Of Juneau Brace For Flooding

Sections of Alaska’s capital city are bracing for the arrival of what could be record floodwaters due to rainwater and snowmelt flowing downstream from a basin dammed by the Mendenhall Glacier. Residents in some parts of Juneau have evacuated. Flooding from the basin has become an annual concern for residents. On Tuesday, officials confirmed water had started escaping the ice dam and was flowing downstream, with flooding expected into Wednesday. In past years the flooding has swept away houses and swamped hundreds of homes. The Mendenhall Glacier is a thinning, retreating glacier that acts as a dam for Suicide Basin, which fills each spring and summer with rainwater and snowmelt.