The water level in the dam disaster in California falls

The next day after 188 thousand people were evacuated from cities under threat of flooding due to dam lake "Oroville", officials sounded a note of cautious optimism on the deterrent threat of flooding. However, the mandatory evacuation order was not cancelled.

The evacuation was declared Sunday after a massive hole was discovered in the emergency spillway that holds back the excess water, when the water level of the lake "Oroville" up to the dam. Some people had only a few minutes to prepare for evacuation, one resident described it as "pure chaos."

The shops are closed. Shelters are open. The police control checkpoints. Evacuees waited in traffic, trying to avoid low-lying areas. Residents of the besieged gas station on your way out of town. By early Monday, many of the pumps at these gas stations had a yellow ribbon. The center of the city "Oroville" was empty.

"We did this because our main goal is to ensure public safety," said County Sheriff at a press conference on Monday. Governor Jerry brown praised the cooperation between local and state civil authorities. At a press conference on Monday evening, he said that he spoke with members of the President's Cabinet Donald trump to request Federal aid.

The dam has two spillway to release water from the lake and prevent overflow. Both have the problem. In the main spillway erosion has eaten a hole nearly the size of a football field and a depth of not less than 40 feet. It may not be fixed immediately. Officials warned Sunday that a 30-foot "wall of water" may collapse downstream if the spillway collapses.

sections: Accidents, World News