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 Glacier.

Emergency officials say new barriers appear to have worked as planned, with only scattered reports of water leaks.

Officials say new sandbag-style barriers installed along a river in Alaska’s capital city have held back record levels of flooding and prevented widespread damage after an ice dam at the nearby Menden