The City and Borough of Juneau issued a public notice warning residents of rising flood risk as Suicide Basin, perched on one side of the Mendenhall Glacier, is approaching levels associated with previous glacial outburst floods.
According to the latest monitoring data, the water level in Suicide Basin has climbed to 1,290 feet, just 44 feet shy of the level that triggered last year’s record-breaking flood on Aug. 6, 2024. Over the past week alone, water levels have risen more than 17 feet, averaging a rapid increase of 2.5 feet per day. If that estimate is true, by Wednesday, the water-ice level will have reached nearly 1,300 feet.
City officials said that if a release occurred today, floodwaters could inundate low-lying areas such as View Drive, potentially reaching homes and making roads impassable. No flood alert has been issued yet, but authorities are maintaining a watch, with a likelihood of another possibly catastrophic flood event in mid-August. This would be during the time when the Alaska Legislature is scheduled to be in special session in Juneau, further adding to Juneau tensions…