Residents in the city's flood zone have been urged to leave the area as water has started escaping the ice dam.

Update, 6:25 a.m. Wednesday: The Mendenhall River hit a record level as of 6 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. The river is in major flood stage at 16.17 feet and rising, the agency said. That surpasses the record set last year of 15.99 feet.

Alaska's capital of Juneau faced record floodwaters due to rainwater and snowmelt flowing downstream from a basin dammed by the Mendenhall Glacier.