GoFundMe accounts set up for Juneau residents displaced by raging river

1. Let the Juneau politicians pay for it from money they are stealing from the taxpayer.

2. Don’t the homeowners have home insurances to cover such incidentals, how about life insurance, retirement, and savings. The neighborhood is a nice one, the type of neighbors who should know more than me about investments and financial planning including not living paycheck to paycheck and living within means or under what one can really afford. I know of one woman she could qualify for a $500,000+ house on hillside. She chose a 200,000 house so she not living paycheck to paycheck so she has money aside for just in case heaven forbid. You know Covid revealed how unprepared Americans are to disasters all except a few, like my friend, are living paycheck to paycheck. This another reminder we must make ourselves prepared to face anything whether the disaster is a pandemic, a climate lockdown, or a natural disaster. Learn to save like me putting money aside just in case my 17 year old car goes kaput God forbid it, so I can maintain my independence and no one must take care of my transportation(they wouldn’t anyway) to find a good used/new vehicle. This world is a temporary one, it’s not where we are to be storing treasures and getting attached to them. Its not our home. Its lesson I am trying to retrain my little 9 year old to rethink about her treasures and collecting cause I make mistake I spoil her earlier.

   • Regular homeowner’s insurance won’t generally cover this type of loss. Unless the homeowners carry flood insurance from FEMA, they probably are uninsured.

3. Another reality lesson is America is badly in debt our state of Alaska is running a deficit, her people are living paycheck to paycheck. Unless voters begin voting for common sense and conservative community leaders into state, local, community councils and boards positions, who are elected to cut our nations budget and state budget. we all moving to a disaster that none of us will have money to help one another let alone help ourselves. If voters including Juneau’s democrats don’t start thinking more conservatively and go-fund-me be nothing except a dream of the past where it used to be a place for Americans to help one another when we had money, when were a wealthy country.

4. Did this river shift a significant distance in a few hours? You would think there would have been some warning and if so the term “all their possessions are gone” would only apply if the building’s occupant wanted it to have been the case.

   This seems unlikely to have been a last minute emergency and likely happened over the course of several days in which case moving would’ve seemed prudent and insurance would be the path rather than donations from strangers.

   What’s the real story?

   • Yes this riparian event was unusual and happened rather quickly. There was not much warning. We live two houses upriver from the house shown collapsing into the river. Our house was built in 1977 and survived this event just fine but that was mostly because it happens to be located at a bend of the river that avoided the main force of the current.

     Most people that live along the Mendenhall river monitor a NOAA website specifically devoted to monitoring conditions of Suicide Basin, the source of the glacial outburst. They’re not idiots like you seem to imply. Visit ‘https://www.weather.gov/ajk/suicideBasin to see for yourself.

     These events have been happening on an annual basis since 2011 so many of the houses affected have been there long before that, without any problems. The previous record outburst happened in 2016 and the vast majority of residences weathered that without any issues.

     Google “Hidden Water: The Suicide Basin Outburst Flood” to see a detailed description of the Suicide Basin situation. It implies that as time goes on, the outbursts should be decreasing in severity. But this particular event happened to exceed the previous record by almost 3 feet. Turns out it’s not just based on how much water is released but also how quickly it’s released. And this year it released quicker than ever before.

     And while you’re at it, let’s hope your homes don’t get destroyed in an earthquake since you stupidly decided to have a home on the seismically active Pacific Rim. I suppose you think the unfortunate Maui residents are at fault for the fires they’re having? Please quit judging others when you don’t know the facts.

     • Affen- That’s why we are unwise to get attached to the things and treasures of the world. Then when things or sufferings happen the event doesn’t bring on such a great grief and loss, it’ll feel more like a little inconvenience. And Juneau has a worse spending habit and bad governance style than a little flash flood taking out a couple of homes. Just like in Anchorage we have a problem with its local leadership and governance style then when we experience another 9.2 earthquake at 5 mins or longer. Don’t worry Affen. We’ll get out turn, I’m waiting for it. Unless I get lucky the good Lord moved us out of democrat drug infested Anchorage. I think natural disasters do very little changing affected peoples attitudes to repent and change their ways. And, Its not that one is affected by a natural disaster that’s important, its how are they going to be changed after the incident occurred. Or they going to go back into their little corrupt ways voting for the same corrupt leadership.

     • Another thing Juneau is lucky we have a competent Govenor Dunleavy taking swift action like river current getting disaster relief funds for its affected residents, and he’s more mature than me not to ignore a political enemy as Juneau to himself ( Juneau hasn’t been all that kind to Dunleavy) since I would just let Juneau suffer alone, they can just muck at the clean up alone- Cause i be like if I must do everything alone by myself, then others can sure go at it alone too- telling them They can go look for help from their incompetent corrupt democrat leaders which I wonder if they are capable to wisely spend the disaster relief funds coming their way. Maybe Juneau’s assembly will try funneling it into its new city hall building expense or its drug and vagrant issues or its social, art, and culture equity and lgbt groups.

   • Outburst flood. Flash flood. A glacier damned lake drained in a matter of hours causing this mass erosion event.
     My sympathies to the occupants but whomever in Planning and Zoning that issued a permit to build that close to a glacier river is the true villain in this story.

   • It was a glacial breakout, something that goes pretty quickly once the dammed water is released. They knew there was an obstruction in the flow of river water. But they didn’t have a clue how bad the release and subsequent river erosion would be. Still, you’re correct that flood insurance should be involved somehow. Don’t know how or if it is offered down there. Don’t know how it works on the Matanuska River either. Note that the upper Kenai and middle Kenai suffer the occasional glacial breakout flooding. Cheers –

5. Question: Did this river shift a significant distance in a few hours?

   Answer: Yes.

6. Why were these home allowed to be built in a flood plain. I live on the Stikine River. Our home is 600 feet from the river bank…

7. These river banks have been eroding for several years and I’m sure at least more than one homeowner knew this. Attempts have been made in the past to reinforce some of the banks. Cost was the major obstacle and who was to pay for it. I was very surprised when whoever built those condos did the second row on the bank. Who approved that?

8. There is hope in averting these Glacier Outburst Floods. One reads where Climate Scientists, (AKA, LAB COATED GRANT CHASERS) are blaming Global Warming on a Maritime Treaty that enforces Ship Smoke Stack emissions. Apparently’ prior to stack scrubbers, Ships belched out clouds that acted as a sun shade umbrella and reflected the Sun’s toxic heat. (I am not making this up) Since the enactment of this Treaty, Smoke Stacks are puking out less smoke and the Earth is exponentially WARMING. Accordingly, residents of Juneau might want to relax Ship Smoke Stack emission standards in an attempt to mitigate these Glacial Temper Tantrums.

   I hope that the Juneau chapter of Antifa “warms” to the idea above. And while we’re signaling our climate virtue let’s not forget that Lemon Creek is choking in a Mount Stinko caused garbage and rain fueled Methane stench that gags maggots.

   • Don’t forget the recent earthquakes that happened near Juneau. Possible that the earthquakes helped loosen up the glaciers even more. Are glaciers being purposely hit by earthquakes to make them disappear quicker and cause devastation? I am waiting to see Whittier and other places in that Sound get hit by a landslide-created tsunami (caused by the frequent earthquakes in the mountains in that region?).

9. location, location, location.

   Caveat emptor. People who live on the Mendy know better. It’s a matter of when, not if.

   By the way: FEMA NFIP flood insurance only covers flood losses to $250K.

10. Happens every year on the Mendenhall Glacier and Suicide basin.

    Nothing new here. Just bigger than the last 10 years. Nature. Return intervals. Mass wasting.

    All natural… been happening before the combustion engine was created.

Comments are closed.