Recently, over 188,000 people have had to evacuate Northern California due to damage to the Oroville Dam. The primary and emergency spillways of the dam (makes sure the dam doesn't overflow when it gets too high) began eroding away, which led to the measures taken. This dam is the tallest in the nation, so it's understandable why a mandatory evacuation was prompted. Now officials are examining the dam to better understand what's happening and to hopefully fix it so the residents can return home.
I am very happy that the California governor issued this evacuation. Even if the dam is not close to breaking or bursting, it is so much better to be safe than sorry. Reading this story, I think back to the situation in China when the Banqiao Dam collapsed, causing an estimated 171,000 deaths. It would be devastating to have a situation anywhere near that again. So I hope that officials can examine the situation and see if anything needs to be fixed before any civilians return back.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/12/us/california-oroville-dam-failure/index.html
It's awful that someone has to go through hat of leaving their home for better safety. natural disasters are awful and our advanced technology has helped us save lives.
ReplyDeleteIt's certainly fortunate it wasn't as bad as it could've been, but it's is still devastating to go through. I have read that many of the dams in America will soon be over their life expectancy in the next few years, leading to the possibility of even more damage.
ReplyDelete-Anna Czyzewski
The sudden displacement of all these people is far from ideal and no doubt quite an ordeal, but it is far better than their potential demise. Hopefully they are able to return to their homes soon.
ReplyDelete-Cal Thompson