This story will be updated throughout the day.
A glacial outburst flood from Suicide Basin is expected to cause the Mendenhall River to crest at 11.41 feet at about 4 a.m. Monday — when temperatures in the Mendenhall Valley are about 20 degrees — flooding some homes on View Drive and backyards on Meander Way, according to official updates published Sunday morning.
The forecasted river crest is far below the record 15.99 feet on Aug. 6 that damaged nearly 300 homes, but the cold temperatures and recent snowfall will add additional complications, according to officials. A hydrograph published shortly after 8:30 a.m. by the National Weather Service Juneau shows the river is expected to reach the minor flood state of nine feet by late Sunday afternoon and the moderate flood stage of 10 feet shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday.
“Residents in this area are strongly advised to take immediate precautions,” an advisory published by the City and Borough of Juneau states. “Take steps to protect your property and prepare for possible power outages in the area…All members of the public should avoid the Mendenhall River until further notice for the safety of yourself and others. Banks are unstable and slippery with recent snow.”
A hydrograph updated Sunday morning shows the Mendenhall River cresting at of 11.41 feet at about 4 a.m. Monday due to flooding from Suicide Basin. (National Weather Service Juneau)
View Drive, Skater’s Cabin Road, Kaxdigoowu Héen Dei (Brotherhood Bridge Trail) and the Dimond Park pedestrian bridge will be closed starting Sunday afternoon, according to CBJ.
The river was at 8.1 feet at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, “crossing into Action-stage/Bankfull, and continuing to rise,” according to an update published at that time at the NWS Juneau’s Suicide Basin Facebook monitoring website. The water level in Suicide Basin was at about 1,250 feet when it began dropping Thursday night — compared to 1,381 feet during the outburst flood that peaked Aug. 6 — and has dropped more than 100 feet since then.
Concern about high tides has been expressed by numerous people to NWS Juneau officials, the agency noted in a post Sunday morning on its Facebook page. However, “the flood inundation maps created in 2014 take into consideration a high tide of 20ft. While the Mendenhall river is expected to crest near 4am, which is at high tide for the Juneau area, we are only expecting a 15.54ft high tide.”
CBJ is distributing free sandbags from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily through Tuesday at the Mendenhall Valley Public Library to residents at addresses affected by the flood in August. Sand for the bags is available in the Thunder Mountain Middle School parking lot and Melvin Park.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
