The
National Weather Service (NWS) received reports of large trees
collapsing into the Mendenhall River near Juneau on Saturday
night as water levels rose, eroding the banks.
Glacial outburst flooding happens when trapped water escapes
through cracks in thinning ice dams, a phenomenon that has
increased around the world as a result of climate change.
The water level of Mendenhall Lake reached nearly 15 feet (4.6
m) early Sunday morning, a 3-foot rise over the previous record
set in 2016, and 5 feet over "moderate" flood levels, according
to the NWS.
Water levels were receding rapidly on the Mendenhall River in
Alaska on Sunday morning, but a flood warning remained in effect
until 10 a.m. local time, the NWS said.
Such extreme weather is expected to increase as a result of
human-induced climate change, with scientists reporting that it
played an "absolutely overwhelming" role in the record-breaking
heat waves that swept North America, Europe and China in July.
Climate change-driven glacial melt and unusually heavy monsoon
rains submerged large swathes of Pakistan last year, damaging
crops and infrastructure and killing at least 1,700 people.
(Reporting by Julia Harte in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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