{Government issues emergency over “imminent” collapse of Oroville Dam’s spillway as thousands flee from their homes.}<\/p>\n
At least 130,000 people living below the tallest dam in the United States have been asked to evacuate as a spillway appeared in danger of imminent collapse.<\/p>\n
The California Department of Water Resources said on Facebook at about 00:30 GMT on Monday that the spillway of California’s Oroville Dam was “predicted to fail within the next hour”.<\/p>\n
While it was still standing nearly three hours later, the Water Resources department said crews would use helicopters to drop rocks to fill a gouge in the spillway.<\/p>\n
Authorities were also releasing water to lower the lake’s level.<\/p>\n
Officials said the cities of Oroville, Gridley, Live Oak, Marysville, Wheat land, Yuba City, Plumas Lake, and Olivehurst were all under evacuation orders.<\/p>\n
Aerial video shows strain on California’s Oroville Dam’s backup spillway hours before thousands ordered to evacuate. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Butte County sheriff said in a statement posted on social media: “Immediate evacuation from the low levels of Oroville and areas downstream is ordered, This is NOT A Drill.”<\/p>\n
Doug Carlson, a spokesman for the Department of Water Resources, said water levels on Friday were over 273 metres, less than 2 metres from the top.<\/p>\n
Evacuation centers were set up at a fairgrounds in Chico, California, about 20 miles northwest of Oroville, but roads leading out of the area were jammed as residents sought to drive out of the flood zone.<\/p>\n
The dam, which serves mainly for water supply, hydroelectricity generation and flood control, activated its emergency spillway after weeks of heavy rain caused the reservoir to rise above its capacity.<\/p>\n
At 230 metres high, the structure, built between 1962 and 1968, is the tallest dam in the US, besting the famed Hoover Dam by more than 12 metres.<\/p>\n
Source:Al Jazeera<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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