New sandbag-style barriers installed along a river in Alaska's capital city held back record levels of flooding and prevented widespread damage after an ice dam at the nearby Mendenhall Glacier released a massive amount of rainwater and snowmelt downstream, officials said Wednesday.

Water pooled on several streets and in some yards in Juneau after the Mendenhall River crested earlier in the day, and high water was expected to persist for hours. But many residents in the flood zone evacuated ahead of peak water levels, and there were no damage reports similar to the last two years, when flooding was rampant and some homes washed away.

The barriers "really have protected our community,” Juneau City Manager Katie Koester told a news conference. “If it weren't for them, we would have hundred

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