188,000 Evacuated As California's Massive Oroville Dam Threatens Catastrophic Floods (washingtonpost.com)

Mr D from 63 quotes a report from The Washington Post: About 188,000 residents near Oroville, Calif., were ordered to evacuate Sunday after a hole in an emergency spillway in the Oroville Dam threatened to flood the surrounding area. Thousands clogged highways leading out of the area headed south, north and west, and arteries major and minor remained jammed as midnight approached on the West Coast -- though by early Monday, Lake Oroville's water level had dropped to a point at which water was no longer spilling over. The lake level reached its peak of 902.59 feet at about 3 a.m. Sunday and dropped to 898 feet by 4 a.m. Monday, according to the Sacramento Bee. Water flows over the emergency spillway at 901 feet. "The drop in the lake level was early evidence that the Department of Water Resources' desperate attempt to prevent a catastrophic failure of the dam's emergency spillway appeared to be paying dividends," the Bee reported Monday. Officials doubled the flow of water out of the nearly mile-long primary spillway to 100,000 cubic feet per second. The normal flow is about half as much, but increased flows are common at this time of year, during peak rain season, officials said. But water officials warned that damaged infrastructure could create further dangers as storms approach in the week ahead, and it remained unclear when residents might be able to return to their homes.

Comments

Just another example of dirty hydroelectric energy

[Anonymous Coward]

This is just another example of how dirty hydroelectric energy generation actually is.

While this is nothing compared to the Banqiao Dam failure (which resulted in almost two hundred thousand deaths), I think it's clear from this that hydroelectric energy just isn't safe.

Let alone the long-term ecological effects from contaminated water.

I urge green activists across the planet to hold the hydroelectric power industry responsible for this glaring oversight!

Failure of Big Science

[mi]

So busy declaring their unwavering support for the idea of Global Warming — and its contribution to drought , none of these guys would raise an alarm over the possibility of a flood.

Both have happened before — early settlers in California have died due to drought-induced famine, and 1863 has seen a spectacular flooding, for example.

The science is settled my tail.

Re:Failure of Big Science

[mi]

AGW will bring about more droughts and more floods

Both predictions have failed to materialize. As have (nearly) all predictions made by climate scientists. Do try to cite any successful ones, I'll wait...

Before you begin, here is what each citations must have:

• a link to the published prediction;
• a link to confirmation of the prediction coming true — within, say, 20% of the predicted value (if quantifiable);
• the two links must be published at least several years apart — predicting tomorrow's weather does not count;
• the prediction must be marginally useful — a statement like "it may become hotter or colder" can not be accepted.

Ready? Set! Go!!

Re:Desert

[angel'o'sphere]

I beg to differ. Idiots like you have no place in this discussion.
A) it does not matter if climate change is based 95% or 99.9% based on burning fossile fuels.
B) there is no such agency running around and asking people:
Inteviewer: why did you leave your country? was it climate change or any other reason?
Refugee1: no I want to exploit scandinavian and/or german welfare!
Refugee2: no, I left because my parents are starving, so are my siblings, I want to work haed and sent money home, so they have a better life!
Interviewer: so the fact that they are starving is not related to climate change?
Refugee1: the climate changed quite drastcally, my parents want me to work, but, well call me lazy ... I have better things to do with my time.
Refugee2: Food prices are soaring, harvests are bad. No idea about climate change. It might be american propaganda, they want our land and want to buy it cheap, perhaps.
Interviewer: so climate change is a fact or a myth?
Refugee1: fact for me, as I now live without working in Finnland.
Refugee2: No idea, I have more urgent matters to think about, my starving sister for one and my mother in hospital for another. I have a PhD from 'insert unknown arabic univeristy' in city design and landscaping but can not find a job, because everyone claims my PhD is fake!
Interviewer: back to climate change, did anyone of you leave your country because of climate change? Or di you know anyone who did? Can you tell me some names to interview?
Refugee1: ... silence
Refugee2: ... shakes head