The spillway of America's largest earthfill dam on the Feather River in Sacramento has collapsed into a sink-hole (blown up?) and eroded the embankment; the emergency spillway has also failed. Emergency evacuations are underway and a no-fly zone is in effect to prevent aerial footage.
Doug Carlson, a spokesman for the state Department of Water Resources, said “severe erosion” occurred in the spillway Sunday afternoon. He said they were still organizing how information will be disseminated this evening.
“Some of us are still here in Sacramento,” he said. “We were told not to go up there because of the potential for flooding and roads being out.”
Residents were alerted to the evacuation through reverse 911 calls, a local man told NBC Bay Area.
An immediate evacuation from low areas from Oroville to Gridley was ordered, as the Feather River will experience rapid river rises in the event of a spillway failure.
Later, that order was expanded as far as Marysville and Yuba County. Those in Oroville were urged to head north toward Chico. Evacuation centers were being set up there and in Paradise.
“This is not a drill,” a bulletin stated. “Repeat this is not a drill … Move to higher ground now. Act quickly to protect your life.”
Video footage showed streams of traffic heading out of the Oroville area, with heavy congestion on Highway 70.
Affected areas include Oroville, Palermo, Gridley, Thermalito, South Oroville, Oroville Dam, Oroville East and Wyandotte.
The flash flood warning is in effect until 4:15 p.m. Monday.
“The next several hours will be crucial in determining whether the concrete structure at the head of the auxiliary spillway remains intact and prevents larger, uncontrolled flows,” stated the water department in a 6 p.m. update.
The emergency spillway had not been used before at the reservoir, which opened in 1968. The structure is a key feature in a series of dams and canals that deliver water to 25 million Californians, including many in San Jose, Livermore, Pleasanton, Fremont, Union City, and Los Angeles.
State officials were hoping to avoid using the emergency spillway, which is basically a dirt hillside, because it would send tons of dirt, rock and silt cascading into the Feather River and then downstream into the Delta.
But dam operators decided early Saturday morning they needed to ease the beating on the main spillway.
Oroville Dam, built into a rocky canyon 70 miles north of Sacramento in the Sierra Nevada foothills, is a critical part of California’s drinking water system, providing water for 23 million people and vast stretches of farmland.
At 770 feet tall, the structure that holds back the Feather River is taller than the Washington Monument and as thick as 10 football fields at its base. Lake Oroville, at 10 miles long, is the second largest reservoir in California behind Shasta Lake.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/1...lure-imminent/
Have not seen any Fakestream Media reports on this potential disaster!