FourWinds10.com - Delivering Truth Around the World

Custom Search

'Atmospheric river' drives ANOTHER catastrophic rain storm towards California - including its stricken dam - as state braces for MORE flooding and residents are told they could have just 15 minutes to evacuate

Anna Hopkins

2/1 9/17

Rain and wind picked up in Northern California on Saturday renewing flood fears
Sections of Interstate-5 in Williams, CA overflowed, blocking traffic for hours
Rain is expected to continue through Tuesday prompting evacuations

Engineers at the stricken Oroville Dam in Northern California have increased the rate at which they are draining water from the reservoir as a powerful rain storm driven by the phenomenon known as an 'atmospheric river' hits the state.

In anticipation of the storm which threatens widespread flooding in many areas, supervisors increased the amount of water being channeled out of the dam to accommodate incoming rain.

The amount of water flowing down the spillway was increased from 55,000 cubic feet a second (cfs) to 60,000 cfs on Sunday afternoon. Earlier this week, outflows were at nearly 100,000 cfs.

However, an evacuation warning is still being issued as residents immediately below the dam could be at a major risk if the dam were to abruptly fail - as they would not be able to receive warning quickly enough to evacuate.

As rainstorms return to Northern California, engineers at the Oroville Dam are working on overdrive to ensure that the troubled barrier doesn't overflow

Go Back

Four Winds 10 - News