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A rush of water unleashed by an ailing glacier swelled an Alaska river to record levels Tuesday and caused destructive flooding in Juneau nearly a year to the date of a similar significant event.

More than 100 homes have been damaged or impacted by the so-called glacial lake outburst flooding along the Mendenhall River in the Mendenhall Valley, according to city officials, who characterized the flood severity as “unprecedented.”

Glacial lake outbursts happen when a lake of melting snow and ice and rain “drains rapidly – like pulling out the plug in a full bathtub” after pooling up so high it overtops the glacier that holds it back, the city of Juneau said in a news release.

The outbursts have become a regular occurrence since 2011 and are a consequence of climate change. The Arctic, including Alaska, is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet as global temperatures rise because of fossil fuel pollution.

This is causing glaciers to thin or melt altogether, including the Mendenhall and Suicide glaciers where the floodwaters originated. Part of the once icy expanse of the Suicide Glacier has been replaced by an earthen divot that gets filled up like a bathtub each summer, setting the sequence in motion.

The lake at Suicide Basin filled to the brim and then overtopped the glacier on August 1, city officials reported. It came after a very wet July with about twice as much rain as is typical. By Sunday it was clear water from the lake was reaching the river and by Monday city officials warned residents they might need to evacuate.

Water levels in the Suicide Basin lake dropped more than 400 feet after this year’s outburst, including more than 350 feet in 24 hours Monday into Tuesday.

All of that water caused the Mendenhall River level to skyrocket a record-smashing 15.99 feet on Tuesday morning, more than a foot higher than the levels hit last year when homes collapsed over the side of the eroded riverbank and into the waterway.

This year’s flooding reached farther into Mendenhall Valley. There was “a lot more water in the valley, on the streets, in people’s homes,” Juneau Deputy City Manager Robert Barr told the Associated Press.

Pictures posted by Alaska’s emergency management agency on Facebook showed homes surrounded by a milky expanse of floodwater high enough to cover vehicles’ hoods.

Some streets at one point had 3 to 4 feet of water, possibly more, Barr said. No one was injured and the city opened an emergency shelter, and about 40 people were there overnight.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a disaster declaration to aid the response and recovery.

“I am grateful no one has been injured or killed by this morning’s outburst flood,” Dunleavy said. “Emergency responders and managers have done an outstanding job keeping their residents safe.”

Floodwaters have since receded now that the glacial lake is no longer full and the river has dropped below flood stage, the National Weather Service in Juneau said.

CNN meteorologist Mary Gilbert and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

US transport safety officials investigating a mid-air emergency on a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane have released thousands of pages of documents, including testimony describing the “chaos” in the moments after the blowout of an unused door.

It came as a two-day National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearing about the 5 January incident on an Alaska Airlines flight got underway.

During the event, Boeing told investigators it will introduce design changes to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

The blowout triggered the US aviation giant’s second major crisis in recent years.

In the more than 3,000 pages of documents released ahead of the hearing, the plane’s crew described the violent decompression that resulted from the panel detaching mid-flight.

The plane’s co-pilot told the investigation there was a “loud bang, ears popping, my head got pushed up into the [head-up display] and my headset got pushed, not off my head, but up almost off my head.”

“It was chaos,” they said.

“And then, just all of a sudden, there was just a really loud bang and lots of whooshing air, like the door burst open,” a flight attendant said.

“Masks came down, I saw the galley curtain get sucked towards the cabin.”

The names of the air crew have been redacted in the documents.

At the hearing, Boeing executives were grilled about the manufacture of the aircraft involved in the incident and the lack of paperwork explaining who carried out work on the door plug before the blowout.

A preliminary report by the NTSB detailed how, after a repair at a Boeing facility, the panel had four bolts missing, which should have helped keep it in place.

“The safety culture needs a lot of work,” said NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy, adding that the plane maker needs to take steps to address the issues.

“They are working on some design changes that will allow the door plug to not be closed if there’s any issue until it’s firmly secured,” said Boeing’s senior vice president for quality Elizabeth Lund.

The NTSB and Boeing have yet to find out who was responsible for removing and reinstalling the door plug.

But Ms Lund said two workers who are likely to have been involved are now on paid administrative leave.

The incident was the latest major blow to Boeing’s reputation.

It resulted in the grounding of Max 9 planes around the world for two weeks, a ban on increasing production, a Federal Bureau of Investigation probe and a management shakeup.

The company recently said it would plead guilty to a fraud charge related to fatal crashes of two of its 737 Max planes more than five years ago.

Last week, Boeing said it had lost $1.4bn (£1.1bn) between April and June.

It has also named aerospace industry veteran and engineer Robert K ‘Kelly’ Ortberg as its next chief executive.

Citing a need for sustainability, troubled airline Ravn Alaska said Tuesday it will suspend its service to Unalaska, Cold Bay and Sand Point in Western Alaska, starting on Aug. 16.

The decision leaves just six communities as scheduled destinations for Ravn. It follows major cutbacks and changes at the regional carrier over the last year.

Representatives with Ravn, including new chief executive Tom Hsieh, could not immediately be reached for an interview Tuesday.

The latest move will allow Ravn Alaska to focus on other destinations in Alaska, the company said in an online statement addressing “frequently asked questions.”

“This change comes as part of a broader initiative to optimize operations and ensure long-term sustainability and growth for the airline,” Ravn Alaska said in the statement. “By reallocating resources and capacity, Ravn Alaska/New Pacific Airlines aims to enhance service reliability and customer satisfaction across its core network.”

“This was not an easy decision, but it is a necessary step in our long-term strategy to strengthen the overall success of our airline and this shift allows us to concentrate on routes where we can make the most significant impact,” the statement said.

The elimination of the three communities leaves Anchorage, Homer, Valdez, St. Paul Island, Unalakleet, and St. Mary’s as Ravn’s scheduled destinations, according to the company’s website.

Another regional carrier, Aleutian Airways, flies to Unalaska, Cold Bay and Sand Point, among other Alaska destinations.

Officials in Unalaska, a city of 4,200 and a major U.S. commercial fishing port, could not immediately be reached for comment late Tuesday.

Ravn laid off 130 employees early this year, a big cut to its workforce of more than 400 at the time. Last fall, Ravn also halted flights to the communities of Kenai and Aniak.

More recently, it replaced its chief executive and lost a mileage-redemption agreement with Alaska Airlines.

Ravn refunds for affected tickets to Unalaska, Cold Bay and Sand Point will be processed automatically, within 14 business days of the end of service to the communities, the company said in the statement.

“There is no need for passengers to take any action to receive their refunds,” the statement said.

“We understand how disruptive and inconvenient this situation is and deeply regret the impact it has had on your travel plans, as well as the communities we’ve served,” Ravn said in an email to passengers.

The airline has had a rocky history.

Ravn Alaska’s predecessor, RavnAir Group, filed for bankruptcy in June 2020, amid high debts and a sharp drop in passenger traffic during the pandemic.

Ravn Alaska launched in late 2020, after new ownership including McKinney acquired part of RavnAir Group’s assets in a $9.5 million bankruptcy sale.

A new company affiliated with Ravn Alaska, meanwhile, has launched an ambitious bid to create an international airline.

New Pacific Airlines, formerly called Northern Pacific Airways, is listed as the parent company of Ravn in Alaska business records.

New Pacific has plans to provide passenger flights to Asia and the Lower 48 with Anchorage stops, using Boeing 757 jets. The company had planned to begin flying to scheduled destinations such as Tokyo and Seoul in 2022.

But it is currently providing only charter flights, according to its website.

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