Juneau, Alaska, local officials have declared an emergency as a glacial lake outburst flood wreaked havoc near the city, destroying structures on Tuesday.
More than 100 homes were damaged by the glacial lake outburst flooding along the Mendenhall River in the Mendenhall Valley, according to city officials, who characterised the flood severity as “unprecedented.”
Glacial lake outbursts happen when a lake of melting snow and ice and rain “drains rapidly.
Outbursts have been common since 2011, and they are caused by climate change.
The Arctic, including Alaska, is warming twice as quickly as the rest of the world as global temperatures rise due to fossil fuel pollution.
This causes glaciers to thin or melt completely, including the Mendenhall and Suicide glaciers from whence the floodwaters came.
A portion of the once-icy expanse of the Suicide Glacier has been replaced by an earthen depression that fills up like a bathtub each summer, starting the pattern in motion.
According to the city of Juneau, flooding has closed multiple highways and bridges in the region.
Residents were advised to avoid the river during the flood event.
According to the National Weather Service, the Suicide Basin has been releasing glacier lake outburst floods that have inundated Mendenhall Lake and the Mendenhall River since 2011.
