Officials say new barriers protected against the kind of major damage inflicted during last year’s destructive Suicide Basin release, though high water inundated numerous areas.

A video provided by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities shows flooding in Juneau after a glacial outburst in Alaska on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025.

N ew sandbag-style barriers installed along a river in Alaska's capital city held back record levels of flooding and prevented widespread damage after an ice dam at the nearby Mendenhall Glacier released a massive amount of rainwater and snowmelt downstream, officials said Wednesday.