Alaskan homes are devoured by river in glacial break flooding

NY Post ^ | 08/07/2023 | Ronny Reyes

[ChicagoConservative27]

At least two homes in Juneau, Alaska, have collapsed into a raging river after a glacial collapse triggered flooding and a state of emergency at the capital.

Harrowing video capture by local resident Sam Nolan shows the Mendenhall River eating away at the shoreline until an entire two-story home plunges into the water.

The TikTok video opens with the river taking out a tree near the shore, with the house barely visible behind all the trees and foliage on Saturday.

The video then speeds up to show the entire greenery slowly succumbing to the flooding river until the house is the only thing left standing at the edge before it, too, eventually crashes into the water.

A nearby, three-story building can be seen about to experience the same fate as its foundation begins to crumble shortly afterward.

[ChicagoConservative27]

I can hear it now. CLIMATE CHANGE!!!

[Spok]

Glaciers come and go, like people.

[butlerweave]

You have to expect flooding when you live by a RIVER

[cuban leaf]

Concrete retaining walls must be really expensive up there.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Melting ice in August? Who could imagine such a thing?

[Magnum44]

[DallasBiff]

You have to expect flooding when you live by a RIVER

or by a creek, first one was 79, second one 2004, seems like every 25 years.

[FatherofFive]

What happens to the power, gas, water and sewer lines?

[Magnum44]

[1Old Pro]

I can’t believe a building inspector would approve building on soil like that next to the river.

[SaveFerris]

Global Warming!!!!!

🥵🥵🥵

Greta’s on fire!! 🔥🔥🔥

[SaveFerris]

I like it!!

[enraged]

Mendenhall glacier is retreating. Taku glacier is advancing. Lived in Juneau for 6 years. Never saw anything like this. A big chunk must have cleaved off and sent a huge wave across the lake and down the river. Looks like the apartment is going next.

[rktman]

Looking for my Yosemite glacier. Anyone? Bueller?

[verum ago]

You have to expect flooding when you live by a RIVER

I have a little bit more sympathy for these folks than I normally would in a situation like this, because odds are this was unfathomable when they built:

The Mendenhall River drainage is extremely short, and the land is rising, such that the river has incised itself into ground, making flooding surprisingly unlikely for such a rainy place. These Suicide Basin releases only started in 2011, and prior to the first one were completely unforeseen.

Prior to 2011, a 100 yr flood was predicted to raise Mendenhall Lake to approximately 65.5 ft AMSL, and the highest recorded flood (also prior to 2011) was 61 ft AMSL. This thing jacked the whole lake up to 74.97 ft in something like 12 hours.

You can see from the footage that the house wasn't flooded, just fell in due to bank erosion. That house's foundation was probably 20 ft above the highest ever recorded crest on the river, and a good 15 ft above the 100 yr flood (prior to 2011). Pretty rotten luck, if you ask me.

[GranTorino]

Probably an ice dam breaking.
They had to come up with a scary globull warming name for it.

[GranTorino]

Glacial break.

[Vaduz]

Last week BBC or maybe News Nation or another one had a report that the Panama canal may need to be re engineered due to the shortage of water it was less then 30 seconds.

Their pumping the fast news in hope it takes.

[AlaskaErik]

I can’t believe a building inspector would approve building on soil like that next to the river.

A few years ago the river was almost 150 feet away. This is the result of a jökulhlaup.

[RetiredTexasVet]

Alaskan homes are DEVOURED by river...

Alaskan munchy homes?