Glacial outburst floods aren't a new phenomenon in Alaska, but climate change is scrambling the geography of risk.

Residents in some parts of Juneau prepared to evacuate ahead of what could be a record surge of flooding as rainwater and snowmelt in a huge basin dammed by Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier started to flow downstream toward the capital city.

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.