Thousands Forced To Evacuate Due To Fear of California Dam Collapsing

Hundreds of thousands of people living close to the United States' largest dam have been forced to evacuate as one of the dam's spillways appeared to be on the verge of collapsing. Authorities issued the abrupt evacuation orders at 00:30 GMT on Monday, warning that a compromised spillway on the Lake Oroville Dam could unleash raging floodwaters that would ravage the communities located along the Feather River.

According to a report from Aljazeera, officials have placed the cities of Gridley, Oroville, Live Oak, Marysville, Wheat Land, Yuba City, Olivehurst and Plumas Lake under evacuation orders. The Butte County Sheriff's Department posted a statement on social media that read: "immediate evacuation from the low levels of Oroville and areas downstream is ordered. This is NOT a drill."

Evacuation centers were also put up in Chico, California which is located 20 miles northwest of Oroville. However, the roads leading out of Oroville were jammed as many residents were looking to escape the potential flood zones. Earlier in the day, the California Department of Water Resources posted on Facebook saying that they were predicting the Oroville Dam to "fail within the next hour."

However, the situation seemed less dire several hours later when the spillway was still standing. The excess water coming from the spillway eventually stopped flowing, but officials said the evacuation orders were still in place. The water levels in the reservoir have risen gradually over the years due to heavy snow and rainfall following years of severe drought.

The Oroville Dam has stood for nearly 50 years and this marks the first time Lake Oroville has experienced an emergency of this magnitude. Lake Oroville is located 65 miles north of Sacramento. According to a report from the BBC, a representative from the California Department of Water Resources had told the news company that the situation was starting to look more positive as the water level in the lake had dropped on the night the evacuation was ordered.