Residents of one of the cities of Alaska were urged to evacuate

The authorities of the city of Juneau in the southeastern part of Alaska urged local residents to evacuate due to the threat of a glacial flood, which could be realized as early as this week. This is reported by the Alaska Beacon portal.

The town of Juneau is located near the Mendenhall Glacier. Last Sunday, August 10, the water began to overflow through the ice dam, which leads to flooding every summer. Last year, flooding damaged more than 290 homes in the valley, a predominantly suburban area of Juneau, located near the glacier. After that, the city authorities built water barriers, but they have not yet been tested in a real emergency.

The Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area, Alaska's most popular tourist destination, is also preparing for closure. The Nugget Falls Trail, the most visited trail in the area, was closed to the public on Monday.

Authorities expect that within a week water will gush from the dam into Lake Mendenhall, located at the foot of the glacier. From there, the water will rush into the Mendenhall River and to the houses.

The first breakthrough flood on the Mendenhall Glacier occurred in 2011, but it was insignificant. As the volume of the glacier shrank due to climate change, the floods intensified over time, reaching their culmination last year.

"We expect the flood volume estimate to be very similar to last year's," says Aaron Jacobs, a hydrologist at the National Weather Service in Juneau.

That is, about 16 billion gallons can pour into the suburbs, which is equivalent to almost 67 million tons of water.

The hydrologist added that in recent days eight inches of precipitation have fallen on the territory and near the reservoir, and hydrographs show that the level of the lake and the Mendenhall River has risen. The authorities plan to organize another SMS notification to city residents before the peak of the flood. An emergency evacuation shelter has been set up at a local school, and state and local authorities have announced an advance warning of a natural disaster as a precautionary measure.