The National Weather Service has announced a special weather statement declaring that Suicide Basin in Juneau has reached capacity and is showing signs of over-topping. They note that in the past, it has taken up to six days for the outburst flooding event to begin after reaching this point. Once NWS issues a flood warning, the outburst flooding event would take about 48 hours to peak. The current height of the basin is 1,360 feet, with a 23-foot rise in water levels over the last seven days. The total capacity of the basin is 1,371 feet.
The City and Borough of Juneau issued a text alert Sunday night, warning residents of the imminent flooding, which they noted could begin anywhere from one to six days, and urging residents within the inundation area to “finalize last-minute preparations, confirm evacuation plans and prepare a go-bag.”
On Sunday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a preemptive disaster declaration for the imminent “catastrophic flooding.”
“By issuing this declaration before the flood occurs, we can position state resources and personnel in advance to support local and tribal governments in their efforts to protect lives, homes, and essential services,” said Dunleavy. “Our goal is to act early to reduce impacts and preserve community safety.”
The declaration from Dunleavy came after the City and Borough of Juneau and the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska declared their own, preemptive disaster declaration ahead of the glacial outburst flood on Friday, as first reported by KTOO.
Suicide Basin has released glacier lake outburst floods that cause inundations along Mendenhall Lake and River annually since 2011, with record-breaking flood events taking place in 2023 and 2024, displacing hundreds of Juneau residents.
CBJ, Tlingit & Haida, and the NWS are monitoring the Basin closely and will issue an alert as soon as it begins to release. Official updates and resources are available at www.juneaufloodhelp.org. Emergency preparedness information can be found at www.ready.alaska.gov.
You can sign up to receive emergency alerts on the release by texting ‘CBJ’ to 38276.
