Alert in Alaska. The melting of glaciers caused record floods, part of the population being evacuated
On Wednesday morning, the evacuation of the population from the Juneau area from Alaska began, where the melting of the glaciers caused record floods, the water level reaching over 4.8 meters.
Some of the residents of Jouishau – Alaska was evacuated. Photo: video capture
The residents of the city of Juneau of Alaska are forced to leave their homes temporarily, as the water from the melting of glaciers flows from a basin to the Mendenhall glacier, about 19 kilometers from the center of Juneau.
The National Meteorological Service (NWS) has issued official alerts for the region since the beginning of this week, warning that the waters have begun to exceed safe levels, which endangers the nearby communities.
At the same time, the local authorities announced that the evacuations could become necessary, and on Tuesday they confirmed that the water began to actually drain from the natural barrage formed by the glacier, estimating that the floods will reach the areas inhabited in the coming days.
After Tuesday, the water level reached 3 meters, below the threshold of major floods of 4.2 meters, Wednesday, August 13, from the first hours of the morning it was reported that the water exceeded 4.8 meters, thus establishing a historical record for the region.
“This will be a new record, based on all the information we have,” said Nicole Ferrin, a NWS meteorologist, at a press conference.
On the official website of the city of Juneau it is explained that the outbreaks of the glacial lakes appear when the water accumulated from the melting of snow, ice and precipitation exceeds the ice dam that retains it, a process comparable to removing the plug from a full bathtub. This sudden drainage can cause devastating floods in the downstream areas have warned the specialists.
Natural disaster
The governor of Alaska state, Mike Dunleavy, said the state of natural disaster on Sunday, warning about “The imminent threat of catastrophic floods caused by the pouring of a glacial lake (Gloof)”
in the Juneau area.
Similar incidents took place in 2011, when several homes were destroyed, and last year hundreds of houses suffered significant damage.
“Juneau, get ready for the coming flood,” wrote someone from the area on social networks
“This is one of the reasons why they do not sleep well at night. These are pictures of suicides basin, the source of the floods caused by the overflow of our glacial lake. The attached photos are from July 1 to August 8. The third photo compares what was the outer edge of suicide basin with what is now the outer edge of the basin …” He posted another local, along with photos in which he surprised the evolution of the phenomenon.
“Have you prepared the emergency bag? Be prepared and make a plan … Stay safe, Juneau”, he ended his post.
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska on an American military base on Friday, confirmed an official of the White House.
