I was in Juneau this week when the Mendenhall River swelled to record levels after the Suicide Basin ice dam burst. Honestly, it was surreal you could feel the tension in town. The new barriers lined along the riverbank were massive, like a wall of sand-filled cages, and they really did their job. Without them, so many homes would have been under water, just like in the past two summers.
Walking near the edge of the flood zone, I saw trees floating by and water lapping at yards. The rain and meltwater just kept coming. Locals told me this kind of flooding has become an annual fear because of how fast the glacier’s retreating. It’s a reminder that climate change isn’t some distant issue, it’s right here, reshaping life in Alaska every summer.
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