New sandbag-style barriers installed along a river in Alaska's capital city held back record levels of flooding and prevented widespread damage after an ice dam at the nearby Mendenhall Glacier released a massive amount of rainwater and snowmelt downstream,

The glacial flooding that sent residents of Alaska’s capital city scrambling this week has become an annual ordeal for those who live along the picturesque river that winds from the nearby Mendenhall

Mendenhall River crested at a record-setting 16.65 feet deep as of 7:15 a.m. Alaska time (12:15 Eastern), and began to empty, according to National Weather Service experts. The water level had fallen to about 8.