The Mendenhall River in Juneau, Alaska is currently above its record flood stage due to a "major release" from Suicide Basin, a side basin of the Mendenhall Glacier above the city. Glacial outburst flooding happens when trapped water escapes through cracks in thinning ice dams, and since 2011, Suicide Basin has annually released glacier lake outburst floods that result in substantial water overflowing into Mendenhall Lake and Mendenhall River.