At a press conference Thursday evening, Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson, president of the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, called the glacial outburst flood event “anticlimactic.”
“I think we’re experiencing a collective sigh of relief in Juneau, and especially those in the area impacted,” Peterson said. “I think the message that we’re digesting is that preparedness works.”
Nicole Ferrin, the warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Juneau, said the event will soon be officially over.
“Water levels are falling about a foot per hour, so residents can expect our flood warning to be canceled sometime this evening once water levels fall below minor flood stage,” Ferrin said.
Although the water appeared to release more slowly than it did last year, Ferrin said it was similar to the floods in 2023 and 2024.
Ryan O’Shaughnessy, the emergency manager at the City and Borough of Juneau, said the city is in the process of assessing damage and has completed 133 preliminary home assessments today, of the roughly 350 total they plan to complete. So far, he said 10 households had water in crawl spaces or garages and two households had some water in the living space, but not up to electrical outlets, which FEMA considers minor damage.
“The HESCO barriers, the slow rate of release, and the pumps provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [were] tremendously helpful in keeping our community safe and dry,” O’Shaughnessy said.
Last year, nearly 50 homes saw flood impacts and in 2024, before the HESCO barriers went up, nearly 300 homes flooded.
O’Shaughnessy said residents can also submit damage reports online.
He showed a video from someone who stood on the HESCO barriers and watched as fast-moving water launched a tree through a barrier, which hit a trailer on the other side and dragged it toward the floodwall.
The video O’Shaughnessy mentions starts at 15:43.
City officials reported two tree strikes downstream of Brotherhood Bridge and some barriers leaning on Meadow Lane.
“Frankly, we’re very, very fortunate that nobody has been seriously injured or killed during this event,” O’Shaughnessy said.
Starting tomorrow, the city and the Army Corps plan to assess damage to the flood wall for repairs ahead of next year’s flood.
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities reopened Back Loop Bridge at 6:50 p.m. and reopened sidewalks on Brotherhood Bridge around 5 p.m.
