Alaskan Capital Flooded By Water From Melted Glacier

The event has already caused significant property damage. Thankfully, no injuries or deaths have been reported due to the flooding. However, the glacier melt raises alarm bells for coastal cities around the globe.

A local shelter for residents was constructed overnight to house thousands of residents who were forcibly removed from hundreds of homes damaged in the flood.

The flood was likened to water overflowing from a bathtub.

This disaster struck nearly a year after the capital city experienced a similar catastrophe that saw at least two homes collapse into the river. Mass evacuations followed shortly after.

City officials reported that an unusually wet July caused the lake at the basin to form, fill to the brim, and overflow.

Eventually, the water did this, flowing into Mendenhall Lake and eventually into the Mendenhall River.

However, the city’s Deputy City Manager Robert Barr said that there was “a lot more water in the valley, on the streets, in people’s homes.”

In some neighborhoods, cars were seen floating as residents attempted to evacuate. According to Barr, some streets were overwhelmed by 3 to 4 feet of water, possibly even more.

Almost exactly a year ago, flood waters caused a large amount of damage to homes as a result of a very similar glacial outburst. Juneau’s deputy City Manager, Robert Barr, remarked that the flood wasn’t as bad as last year’s waters.

Although the region has experienced periodic flooding for more than a decade as global temperatures have risen, Alaskan officials say that this year’s flood isn’t the worst that it’s ever been.

The massive change in sea level hit residents in coastal communities hard. In the future, there climate-change-related refugees in flooding cities will become more common.

The state is home to the largest ice fields in the world. Their melting is a major contributor to sea-level rise, slowly putting some of the world’s coastal areas underwater.

Officials noted that the glacier outburst last year and the flooding was quicker than previous years.

This underscores the significant effects of climate change on glacial systems and the growing occurrence of extreme weather events.

The warming temperatures are causing glaciers to thin and melt more rapidly, destabilizing glacier lakes.

The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are the primary contributors to global sea level rise. Currently, the Greenland ice sheet is melting four times faster than it was in 2003 and accounts for 20% of the present sea level rise.

Massive amounts of very cold glacial melt water entering warmer ocean waters is slowing ocean currents.

The additional smoke, smog, and pollution have slowly increased the global temperature over the years. However, in the past decade, the rise has become rapid and exponential. Although experts have attempted to come up with ways to cool the climate, humans continuously use more energy year after year; the only real way to reduce climate change is to reduce the amount of fossil fuels being burned.

The excess water from the Mendenhall River reached nearly sixteen feet, a new record for the area.

Dunleavy posted a series of photos showing the damage done by the floods as he spent some time with the victims. “Today I surveyed the aftermath of the Juneau glacier flood,” Dunleavy wrote. “The damage is significant and affecting hundreds of Alaskans. I’m grateful that there were no deaths or severe injuries reported.”

In the past year, the amount of water in the basin has risen significantly compared to when the glacial outbursts first began in 2011.

Climate change has had a constant effect on glacial systems, making it hard to estimate the changes from year to year.

Gov. Dunleavy noted that he wanted to ensure needed resources were sent immediately so that recovery could begin right away.

“In addition to the Disaster Declaration, I have directed all state agencies to support the community as they deal with this major flooding.”