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

Sections of Alaska’s capital city are bracing for the arrival of what could be record floodwaters due to rainwater and snowmelt flowing downstream from a basin dammed by the Mendenhall Glacier.

Record floodwaters released by the nearby Mendenhall Glacier crested Wednesday in a river that flows through Alaska’s capital city with no immediate reports of major damage, though officials warned that high water would remain for several hours.