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.

When the peak of the annual glacial outburst flood hit early Wednesday morning in Juneau, newly installed flood barriers stacked along the Mendenhall River largely prevented flooding of the nearby residential area.

This year, a giant wall of reinforced sandbags erected with the help of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held back the worst of the flooding in Juneau, to residents' great relief.

Each summer in the mountains above Juneau, Alaska, meltwater from the massive Mendenhall Glacier flows into mountain lakes and into the Mendenhall River, which runs through town.

Because the flooding has been a growing concern, city officials have installed emergency flood barriers along several miles of riverbanks.

The flood reached a record-breaking crest of 16.65 feet at about 8 a.m. Wednesday. Water continues to seep into Valley neighborhoods.

The all clear has been given and residents have been allowed to return to their homes in Alaska’s capital of Juneau after a glacial lake outburst sent debris-filled water rushing down the Mendenhall River on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

Officials in Alaska have advised residents to evacuate the state's capital city Wednesday as a melting glacier is expected to cause major flooding.

These floods, which began more than a decade ago, have become increasingly destructive in recent years and now pose a persistent summertime threat. This time, Alaska’s capital city fortified itself against the floodwaters.

Glacial lake outburst flooding is a flood that's produced by the quick, unexpected release of water from a glacial lake.

A powerful surge of glacial meltwater is once again testing Juneau's resilience, and this time, the ripple effects could reach well beyond city limits — impacting thousands of travelers headed to Alaska’s capital by cruise ship.