Alaska’s capital faced its third straight year of record glacier-driven flooding after water trapped in Suicide Basin, a side basin of the Mendenhall Glacier, burst through an ice dam and surged into the Mendenhall River. The river crested early Wednesday at about 16.6 feet, topping the 2024 high of 15.99 feet and setting a new benchmark for the outburst events that have become an annual threat since 2011, according to the National Weather Service. Officials urged residents in the flood zone—roughly 1,000 homes and businesses—to evacuate, warning that fast-moving water loaded with debris could prove life-threatening. The city opened emergency shelters while erecting a 2.5-mile temporary levee built from 10,000 Hesco barriers intended to shield more than 460 properties. Water pooled on several streets but, by midday, authorities reported no significant structural damage. Glacial lake outburst floods have intensified as warming temperatures accelerate the retreat of ice around Suicide Basin, allowing the reservoir to refill each spring and release volumes that researchers estimate can approach 15 billion gallons—about 23,000 Olympic pools—in a single event. Successive record floods in 2023 and 2024 damaged nearly 300 homes. Governor Mike Dunleavy issued a pre-disaster declaration to speed state assistance, while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begins a multiyear study of permanent flood-control options. Forecasters expect water levels to remain high for several hours before dropping below flood stage on Thursday, but caution that similar events are likely to recur for decades as long as the glacier continues to function as a natural dam.