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Californians set for long shelter stay in dam woes
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TENS of thousands of Californians faced an indefinite stay in shelters as engineers worked for a second day yesterday to fix the United States’ tallest dam before more storms sweep in.
After what looks set to be the wettest winter in Northern California following years of drought, more rain was forecast for as early as today and through Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
Crews were working to shore up an overflow channel and drain the reservoir at the Lake Oroville Dam but authorities gave no indication of when it would be safe for people to go home.
Late on Sunday, about 188,000 residents were ordered to evacuate their homes in the Feather River valley below the dam, 105km north of Sacramento.
Authorities say they had averted the immediate danger of a catastrophic failure at the dam that could unleash a wall of water three stories tall on towns below. “We’re doing everything we can to get this dam in shape that they can return and they can live safely without fear. It’s very difficult,” California Governor Jerry Brown told reporters during a news conference on Monday evening.
On Monday, Brown sent a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to issue an emergency declaration, which would open up federal assistance for the affected communities, after an emergency overflow channel appeared on the brink of collapse.
The earth-filled dam is just upstream and east of Oroville, a town of about 16,000 people. At 230 meters high, the structure, built between 1962 and 1968, it is more than 12 meters taller than the Hoover Dam.
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