Overview

• Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s state disaster declaration cited the imminent threat of catastrophic flooding after Suicide Basin reached record levels and began spilling over its ice dam on August 10.
• Hydrologic data from the National Weather Service and USGS confirm water volumes at or above prior flood-of-record levels, with ongoing erosion of an overflow channel indicating a likely glacial lake outburst flood.
• A unified command of state, local and federal agencies has been activated, issuing Wireless Emergency Alerts and closing low-lying trails and river access in the Mendenhall Valley.
• Emergency teams have deployed over 10,000 HESCO barriers along more than two miles of riverbank and opened an evacuation shelter at Floyd Dryden Middle School.
• Scientists warn that outburst floods have grown larger in recent years and will likely continue for decades as the Mendenhall Glacier retreats, complicating logistics for Juneau’s response and recovery.