In Pics: US dam develops snag, several Indian Americans evacuated

Evacuation measures were ordered after a dam in California, US, developed a severe snag on Sunday.

California, Feb 13: Several Indian Americans were evacuated as a part of an emergency rescue operation undertaken in Northern California, US, on Sunday, as reports suggest that Oroville Dam, located in the vicinity might collapse.

"Several of the people being evacuated are of Indian origin Americans; approximately 13% is of Punjabis/Sikhs descent," stated ANI.

According to Associated Press, the emergency spillway of the Oroville Dam in Northern California could fail unleashing uncontrolled flood waters from Lake Oroville.

The California Department of Water Resources on Sunday asked people in downstream areas to leave their homes immediately to avoid any casualties.The department added that it is releasing as much as 100,000 cubic feet per second from the main, heavily damaged spillway to try to drain the lake.

The Butte County Sheriff's office said, the residents of Oroville, a town of 16,000 people, should head north toward Chico, and other cities should follow orders from their local law enforcement agencies.

Here we bring you few images of the dam:

Rising water level at Oroville Dam

Water overflowing for the first time ever at Oroville.
Picture Credit: Dave Petley @davepetley

Oroville Dam is fine

The integrity of the dam is not jeopardized in any way because the problem is with the spillway and not the dam, according to an official of the California Department of Water Resources.

Picture Credit: Kelly Huston @ProComKelly

Problem in the dam occurred last week

The initial damage to the spillway occurred last week, about 3,000 feet from where water enters from the lake, say reports.

Picture Credit: California Department of Water Resources

Mystery shrouds snag in the dam

Unfortunately, the engineers don't know what caused the damage, which they say is expected to grow.

Picture Credit: California Department of Water Resources

OneIndia News