(JUNEAU, Alaska) — One of Alaska’s most populated cities is bracing for potentially catastrophic flooding as a basin dammed within the Mendenhall Glacier has started to release rainwater and snowmelt downstream, according to officials.

Suicide Basin, a side basin within the Mendenhall Glacier that sits above the city of Juneau, regularly releases glacier lake outburst floods, according to the National Weather Service. But recent measurements of water within the basement suggest the basin could release enough water to overwhelm the Mendenhall River and Mendenhall Lake, according to officials.

By 7 a.m. local time, the Mendenhall River had reached a major flood stage at 16.51 feet and was continuing to rise — surpassing the record flood stage set in 2024 of 15.99 feet, according to the NWS

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