Historic glacial flooding damages more than 100 homes in Juneau

JUNEAU — Local officials in Juneau say more than a hundred — and possibly hundreds — of homes and other dwellings were damaged Tuesday following an ice dam burst near the Mendenhall Glacier, sending billions of gallons of water into Mendenhall River Valley neighborhoods. The river crested at a record level of nearly 16 feet just after 3 a.m. Tuesday, prompting several dozen residents to seek emergency shelter overnight. It’s not yet clear how many people have been displaced by what officials are calling an unprecedented event.

As floodwaters receded, local and state officials were taking stock of the extent of the damage.

Update: ‘Significant inundation in neighborhoods’

12:30 p.m.

The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly has approved a local emergency as officials described flooding far more widespread than expected, though with no reported injuries.

Floodwaters inundated hundreds of homes and vehicles before receding, they said.

“We anticipate the need for temporary and long term sheltering assistance; financial support to individuals and businesses; environmental cleanup support due to fuel oil spills; and resources (people, equipment, supplies, and trash disposal) for flooded structures,” according to a resolution supporting the declaration.

The local emergency declaration, approved unanimously, gives Juneau officials access to state and federal assistance.

There was “significant inundation in neighborhoods that were not anticipating inundation,” Juneau city manager Katie Koester said during the meeting, describing residents who expected they wouldn’t be impacted “and then had to leave in a big hurry.”

There have been no reports of homes falling in the river, Koester said.

Rescues included at least one person in a wheelchair, officials said. Power was restored by noon and most roads were passable, they said. Many residents were asking how to handle cleanup, several Assembly members said.

The river level had dropped to just over 9 feet by noon and was expected to drop below flood level this afternoon, officials said.

Original story:

JUNEAU — Officials in Juneau say over 100 homes are damaged following a glacial dam outburst that triggered unprecedented flooding along the Mendenhall River, prompting evacuations and water rescues.

The flooding peaked just after 3 a.m. Tuesday after the ice dam burst in a side basin of the Mendenhall Glacier. Billions of gallons of water rushed downstream, raising the river to a record level of 15.99 feet, according to the National Weather Service in Juneau.

The release from Suicide Basin flooded homes and roads in the Mendenhall River Valley. The densely populated residential area, with several schools and numerous businesses and churches, is about 10 miles northwest of downtown Juneau.

The City and Borough of Juneau on Monday night issued an evacuation warning, officials said. The river’s flood levels crested nearly a foot higher than last year’s “disastrous flood of record,” according to an update Tuesday from state disaster officials.

Local officials reported water rescues and about 45 residents stayed overnight in an emergency shelter at Floyd Dryden Middle School, the update said.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a state disaster declaration on Tuesday morning, activating the state disaster response. The State Emergency Operations Center is deploying a division supervisor and operations specialist to Juneau to coordinate the state disaster response and directly support the city’s Incident Command. A city disaster declaration is expected to soon follow.

Deputy Juneau City Manager Robert Barr said no injuries were reported, but Juneau firefighters did assist with evacuations overnight.

As of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Barr said it was unclear exactly how many homes had been damaged by the flooding but that number could potentially be in the hundreds.

“We don’t have a full understanding of that yet, the waters are still receding,” he said.

Mendenhall Valley residents living close to the river were told on Monday afternoon to evacuate or stay elsewhere overnight.

The Juneau Empire reported that the shelter was empty at 1:30 a.m. before roughly 30 people showed up within a couple of hours, many of whom had quickly fled the unexpected scale of the flooding. Barr said 43 residents stayed overnight at the shelter. He said many more residents sheltered elsewhere Monday night.

Photos posted on social media showed water up to the roofs of some houses and vehicles all but submerged.

The glacier dam release is known as a jökulhlaup, and has occurred annually in Juneau since 2011. Two condominium buildings were condemned last year by the same flooding phenomenon. Homes washed away as the riverbank rapidly eroded.

Juneau city officials said the floodwaters were expected to recede quickly on Tuesday.

The City and Borough of Juneau announced facility closures Tuesday including the Dimond Park Aquatic Center, the Dimond Park Field House and the Mendenhall Valley Public Library.

Riverside Drive on Tuesday was closed southbound from Stephen Richards Memorial Drive, officials said in a statment. “A number of side streets and roads in the vicinity of the river are currently closed; conditions will change as water rapidly recedes. Please respect all road closure signs and do not endanger yourself by attempting to drive through floodwaters. Roads will be reopened as soon as it is safe to do so.”

Officials asked residents to stay away from flooded areas to allow responders and other crews to work.

Alyssa Fischer, who works at the Juneau Police Department, said she didn’t expect she would need to evacuate. But the rapidly rising water changed her plans to stay at home.

”As soon as I started seeing the water rise to about half my tire level, I was like ‘OK, we’re calling it’ — because it happened so fast. I just didn’t know what to expect anymore,” Fischer said. She and her two children evacuated to the emergency shelter at the middle school, along with a pet duck and a goose.

The American Red Cross had personnel assisting evacuees.

”They had coffee, they had food, hot chocolate. And they brought in breakfast. They were super awesome,” she said about the city’s shelter.

Returning home Tuesday morning, Fischer said the water had come into her garage but not her house. There was some drywall damage and furniture in boxes damaged by the water, she said. But she counted herself “super fortunate” to just have some standing water inside and not worse, she said.

A neighbor on a nearby street who also needed to evacuate had a far more harrowing night, Fischer said.

“They woke up in the middle of the night with water pouring in and they barely had enough time to get their kids out,” she said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Sean Maguire reported from Juneau and Zaz Hollander from Palmer.