Evacuations due to damaged dam California

oroville - The local authorities have called on residents to evacuate from Oroville, California and surrounding area. The Oroville Dam, the tallest dam in the United States, has been damaged by heavy rainfall. An emergency spillway, a waterway that carries away the surplus water would collapse nancy.

On social media, the sheriff of the area informed the evacuation statement: 'Immediate evacuation of the lower parts of Oroville and the areas downstream. This is NOT exercise. 'Authorities advise people to withdraw only downstream travel the Feather River, and not north towards the city. The river rises in Lake Oroville, the reservoir of the dam. The evacuation area is home to more than 160, 000 people.

The emergency spillway is badly damaged and can fail at any time by the water authorities. They try everything to prevent the collapse of the waterway. When that happens will be great floods flow through the country. Helicopters leave large rocks loose in the waterway to prevent gaps caused by erosion.

The additional spillway is set after the regular flow failed. Because of the heavy rainfall in recent days increased the water level of Lake Oroville to dangerous heights. Saturday thereby created a sinkhole in the middle of the spillway. Erosion caused large pieces of concrete were swept away by the water and the gap continued to grow. Engineers therefore decided to open a second (emergency) spillway to carry away all the water.\n  \n   \n    \n    \n   \n   \n   \n      \n   \n     Photo: EPA

For the first time in the history of the dam was opened another waterway. These could soon not led to erosion and large volumes of water to ensure that the waterway was collapsing. The high water has ensured that the maximum capacity of Lake Oroville is reached.

The reservoir has a capacity of 4.3 million cubic kilometers and has an important function in the California water supply. The Oroville Dam serves as a hydroelectric power station and as protection against floods.