CBJ Alerts
2025 Juneau GLOF Unified Command Response to Imminent Glacial Outburst
JOINT INFORMATION RELEASE
August 11, 2025
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Juneau, Alaska – As of 7 p.m. Sunday, August 10, National Weather Service (NWS) monitoring data showed Suicide Basin was full and beginning to overtop. The 2025 Juneau GLOF Unified Command, led by the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ), Tlingit & Haida, and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Sector Southeast Alaska, has activated final response preparations for a potential glacial outburst within 1-6 days, including flood mitigation, a public hotline, emergency shelter and transportation staging, and extra steps to notify households within the inundation zone.
While partners have been meeting on a regular basis for a potential response, the Unified Command began meeting daily as of Sunday, August 10, 2025. The daily briefings include reports from section chiefs and safety briefings. The top priority of these meetings is the safety of people and infrastructure.
Following the overtop notification from the NWS, an alert was issued to all cell phones in the Juneau area via the Wireless Emergency Alert and Emergency Alert Systems. A second alert will be issued when the basin begins to release. To receive updates between emergency alerts, residents are advised to sign up for CBJ alerts at bit.ly/CBJAlerts. For the most up-to-date information regarding the status of the basin, visit https://www.weather.gov/ajk/suicidebasin.
A non-emergency public flood information hotline went live today at 1:30 p.m. Staffed by trained volunteers, the hotline provides information about sheltering, transportation, current conditions, and other questions residents may have as they prepare for an evacuation alert. The phone number for the flood information hotline is (907) 500-0890.
The hotline is for general information only. All emergency calls should go to 911.
Starting at 1 p.m. today, printed evacuation preparation notices are being distributed to all homes located within the 17-foot inundation zone (without HESCO barriers), as mapped on the 2025 Mendenhall Inundation Maps (available at juneauflood.com) and based on current hydrologic data. The evacuation area may be revised pending future updates from the National Weather Service. Sign up for emergency alerts to receive most current information. Each printed notice includes shelter information, basic steps for protecting property, the flood information hotline number, and a link to Juneau’s flood readiness website at bit.ly/JuneauFloodReady.
CBJ Engineering staff is completing final pre-basin release inspection of the HESCO barriers and closing installation and drainage outlets. This work also includes closing the Mendenhall River pedestrian bridge behind the Dimond Park Field House.
The public is advised to stay off the Back Loop Bridge (Mendenhall Loop Road) once flood conditions begin, as Alaska DOT&PF will close the bridge for safety when water levels reach the closure threshold. Officials are requesting that residents that do not live or work in the potential flood inundation area avoid these neighborhoods where possible to stay safe and allow impacted residents to prepare. There are several live streams of the Mendenhall River, Lake and Glacier linked at bit.ly/juneaufloodready for the public to view the river from a safe distance.
Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska is actively participating in the Unified Command with local, state, federal, and tribal agencies to execute a coordinated response to the anticipated Juneau Glacier Outburst Flood 2025. The Coast Guard is prepared to respond to and identify maritime search and rescue, pollution, and environmental threats, and stands ready to coordinate other governmental agencies’ support requests.
DOT&PF is actively supporting the Unified Command with both aerial and ground-based operations. Teams are conducting real-time drone monitoring of key infrastructure, including bridges, the wastewater treatment facility, HESCO barriers, and other sites that could be impacted by flooding. This information is critical for guiding response actions, and we ask the public to keep personal drones out of the area so our crews can operate safely.
In addition, DOT&PF is maintaining up-to-the-minute updates on the 511 Traveler Information System so residents and travelers can get timely road condition and closure information. Bridge inspections, traffic control measures, and other road closures will be implemented as needed to protect the traveling public.
The CBJ, Tlingit & Haida, the State of Alaska and the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska have formed a Joint Information Center (JIC) and will support a Unified Command system during any potential GLOF in 2025. The JIC will continue to distribute updates and information to the public via bit.ly/JuneauFloodReady and agency social media channels.
CBJ and Tlingit & Haida issued coordinated disaster declarations on Friday, August 8, allowing Unified Command to mobilize resources in advance of a potential outburst.
Unified Command and partners meet at the Emergency Operations Center on August 11:
Volunteers sign in at Dimond Park Aquatic Center on August 11 for a briefing ahead of distributing evacuation preparedness notices:
A volunteer hangs an evacuation preparedness notice on a door:
