The capital of Alaska saw heavy floods due to a glacier outburst, resulting in damage to over 100 dwellings. According to municipal officials, the Mendenhall Glacier’s glacial outburst flood started on Monday and by Tuesday, water levels in Juneau might reach up to 16 feet. As on Wednesday, there have been no reports of injuries in the roughly 31,000-person city.
Suicide Basin on the glacier peaked on August 1st, according to a news release from Juneau officials, following a record-breaking two weeks of rain in July.
According to officials, on Sunday, a considerable amount of water from Mendenhall Lake had entered the Mendenhall River, prompting evacuation orders for nearby households on Monday.
According to officials, the lake’s water levels dropped by more than 400 feet following the eruption, mostly between Monday and Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a state disaster declaration, which boosted emergency response capabilities and permitted localities to cover costs associated with responding to emergencies and repairing infrastructure damage.
“I am grateful no one has been injured or killed by this morning’s outburst flood. Emergency responders and managers have done an outstanding job keeping their residents safe,” Dunleavy stated. “In addition to the Disaster Declaration, I have directed all state agencies to support the community as they deal with this major flooding.”
Increased eruptions of glacial lakes since 2011
This type of outpouring from a glacial lake occurs when basins empty quickly, a process likened by Juneau officials to “pulling out the plug in a full bathtub.”
According to a University of Alaska Southeast environmental science professor named Eran Hood, who spoke with the Associated Press last year, the state has experienced more eruptions since 2011, mostly as a result of climate change.
A spike in global temperatures brought on by pollutants from fossil fuels is causing glaciers such as the Mendenhall and Suicide to retreat.
A scientific study published last month in the peer-reviewed British journal Nature Communications indicates that glacier melt in a key Alaskan icefield has accelerated and may approach an irreversible tipping point earlier than previously thought.
Some of the greatest icefields on Earth are found in this state, and their gradual melting is a major factor in the gradual rise in sea level that is submerging some of the world’s coastal regions.
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Last August, destructive floods occurred in Juneau
Juneau’s problems have arisen a year after the town was forced to evacuate due to devastating flooding that caused at least two homes to collapse into the waterway. The eruption this year raised the water levels by more than a foot over previous year’s.
Authorities said that the flooding and glacier eruption of last year happened far more quickly than in the past. In a similar vein, water from the Suicide Basin rushed into Mendenhall Lake, then into the town via the Mendenhall River.
