Oroville Dam’s near catastrophe: A wake up call for the nation
http://www.californiadroughtupdate.org/pdf/20170227-EIR-article.pdf
By Patrick Ruckert
February 26, 2017
February 26, 2017—Late Sunday afternoon on February 12, an emergency alarm was sounded by the
Yuba County, California Sheriff:
“This is an evacuation order. Immediate evacuation from the low levels of Oroville and areas
downstream is ordered. A hazardous situation is developing with the Oroville Dam auxiliary spillway.
Operation of the auxiliary spillway has lead to severe erosion that could lead to a failure of the
structure. Failure of the auxiliary spillway structure will result in an uncontrolled release of flood
waters from Lake Oroville. Immediate evacuation from the low levels of Oroville and areas
downstream is ordered. This in NOT A Drill. This in NOT A Drill. This in NOT A Drill.”
Soon, 188,000 people were in their cars, jamming the roads and becoming more and panic stricken as
authorities over emergency broadcast networks were warning that the Oroville Dam emergency
spillway could collapse within the hour. Had it done so, a 30-foot wall of water would have swept
down the valley of the Feather River. The casualties would have been in the thousands.
