A huge Northern California reservoir, held in place by a massive dam, has always been central to the life of the towns around it.

Now the lake that has brought them holiday fireworks and salmon festivals could bring disaster.

Nearly 200,000 people, who evacuated Sunday over fears that a damaged spillway at Lake Oroville could fail and unleash a wall of water, have to stay away indefinitely while officials race to repair it before

Almost 200,000 people were ordered to leave the towns downhill of the Oroville Dam on Sunday as heavy rainfall left it at risk of bursting.

On Monday it emerged that authorities had ignored warnings about a possible collapse 12 years ago.

The rainfall that is expected Wednesday could pour into a gaping 250ft chasm in the concrete spillway, causing a collapse and unleashing a 30ft 'tsunami' tidal wave that could leave towns along a 40-mile stretch of the Feather River below the dam under 100ft of water.

The situation is now so critical that President Trump is being urged to declare a disaster in Butte, Sutter and Yuba counties, where 200,000 people, including Department of Water staff, were frantically ordered to evacuate their homes and places of work on Sunday.





http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4221808/Officials-warned-Oroville-Dam-12-years-ago.html

The Dam in 2005.

First to comment hurray

explorere mAh man

An aerial photo released by the California Department of Water Resources shows the damaged spillway with eroded hillside in Oroville on Saturday.

Water trickles down as workers inspect part of the Lake Oroville spillway failure on Wednesday, February 8, 2017 in Oroville, Califonia.

Explorers again... Let me chill here!!

Following.......

The spillways were not reinforced, and on Monday Riverbend Park was left submerged by the flood water.

Officials said the threat had subsided for the moment.

However, things could get worse on Wednesday as storm approaches.

A flooded cemetery in Marysville on Monday.

The dam's largely earthen emergency spillways eroded due to the heavy waterfall, causing a loss of control.

More rain is expected on Wednesday which could lead to a 'tsunami'

Ghost towns: The city of Oroville is empty after an evacuation was ordered for communities downstream from the Lake Oroville Dam.


Just two vehicles remain in this shopping mall's parking lot in Oroville, after warnings that the dam might burst.

Repairs: Bags stuffed with rocks are being lifted by a helicopter to be dropped into a hole in the lip of the dam.

Wey my sit?

Auto response system working immediately

Se how fast they are responding to the damage... Chai had it been na Naija.. Hmmmm

Sometimes I feel we aren't ready for improved infrastructure in this country, our maintenance culture and awareness is next to zero. We can't maintain the little we have, bigger infrastructures may only spell doom for the populace.

If it happened in Nigeria we would still be praying while people drowned and some pastors will claim that the lord wants to repeat Noah's genocide again so everyone should give everything they have unto the lord.

The FG will be busy blaming GEJ and the past administration

NDA will blow up a pipeline just for the fun of it

Boko Haram will blow somewhere up

While Tonto Dike complains about her married life to people whose fvcks got carried away by the flood

lalasticlala oya o. send this to front page cos I am on explorers thread

hahn:
If it happened in Nigeria we would still be praying while people drowned and some pastors will claim that the lord wants to repeat Noah's genocide again so everyone should give everything they have unto the lord.

The FG will be busy blaming GEJ and the past administration

NDA will blow up a pipeline just for the fun of it

Boko Haram will blow somewhere up

While Tonto Dike complains about her married life to people whose fvcks got carried away by the flood

You're getting tribalistic hanh
You forgot Biafran separatists and Fulani herds men.

An aerial photograph shows the damage done to the area surrounding the emergency spillway including a torn-up road at Oroville Dam after it nearly collapsed on Sunday.

Evacuees rest on campbeds in the shelter, located in Chico, around 22 miles northwest of the Oroville Dam. They were told that they would not be allowed to return until the dams' spillways were repaired.

booked

Men..look at an organized town waiting to be deluged..meanwhile in nigeria where natural disasters barely happen our streets and roads are already a disaster...

Explorers:
A flooded cemetery in Marysville on Monday.

The dam's largely earthen emergency spillways eroded due to the heavy waterfall, causing a loss of control.

More rain is expected on Wednesday which could lead to a 'tsunami'

Even the dead still have to die again by drowning. This is wickedness. So, they were warned 12 years ago but refused to take premeditated action? The relevant authorities should be sued for failing to discharge their public duty.

sweetboiy:
Se how fast they are responding to the damage... Chai had it been na Naija.. Hmmmm

Massive obituary... Our government insensitivity is incontestable!

hahn:
If it happened in Nigeria we would still be praying while people drowned and some pastors will claim that the lord wants to repeat Noah's genocide again so everyone should give everything they have unto the lord.

The FG will be busy blaming GEJ and the past administration

NDA will blow up a pipeline just for the fun of it

Boko Haram will blow somewhere up

While Tonto Dike complains about her married life to people whose fvcks got carried away by the flood

And NEMA would start riding bicycles to the scene with officials hell bent on looting and diverting the relief packages meant for the victims. Call it Rape in broad day light.

Part of the problem of California statewide water system is the obsession with dams. You would think the beaver god was from there.
They have abstracted so much groundwater the ground strata are permanently unstable. Some speculate that some earthquakes around the famous San Andreas fault are worsened or amplified by the lowering of the water table. The whole thinking around water went wrong when the assumption was made that damming was a solution. Nobody thought about systems to allow infiltration by rainfall into underground water systems. This system is one of the worst water management systems anywhere in the world, but don't say that to the mighty TSA.