Insane drone footage shows massive damage and flooding at California’s Oroville Dam

The California sheriff says repairs on the dam’s damaged spillway may be needed before the evacuation is lifted. just as the region braces for more rain.

DWR reiterated Sunday that “Oroville Dam itself is sound”, explaining that the dam built in the late 1960s is actually “a separate structure” from the emergency spillway.

State authorities and engineers on Thursday began carefully releasing water from the Lake Oroville Dam, some 105km north of Sacramento, after noticing the missing chunks of concrete from the spillway.

California Fire Incident commander, Kevin Lawson, said officials stood by the decision to evacuate residents, rather than risk thousands of lives.

Most schools were closed Monday morning as residents cleared the area and headed to evacuation centers at churches, fairgrounds, campgrounds and an Air Force base. The town of Oroville and other communities downstream remained under evacuation orders due to the threat of flooding. Large animals can go to Camelot Equestrian Park, 1985 Clark Road. Also, Cattleman’s Livestock Market in Galt has room for large animals.

All 578 inmates from the Butte County Jail in Oroville were evacuated Sunday to a jail in Alameda County.

“This was an immediate and emergency action to support a portion of the 180,000 evacuees of the Oroville Dam emergency situation”, the base said in a release.

The five-member board must include engineers with expertise in concrete spillway structures, spillway hydraulics, geology, and dam design and operation.

However later in the day, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office said the erosion on the emergency spillway is not advancing as rapidly as officials initially thought.

Feather River after officials began using Oroville emergency spillway. Crews are working to relieve pressure from the emergency spillway.

The Department of Water Resources plans to continue discharging flows at a rate of 100,000 cubic feet per second, with the hope of lowering the reservoir level by 50 feet. You can see a diagram of the main spillway and emergency spillway here.

Croyle said sometimes low-flow water can be high energy and cause more damage than expected. Los Angeles County swift water rescue teams were also on their way to Oroville early Monday but their trip was canceled after news that no more water was flowing over the emergency spillway.