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Weakened Dam Threatens Homes in Northern California
Written by
Katie Lawson
, Staff Writer, Redcross.org
Thursday, April 06, 2006 — Officials evacuated about 100 homes in Merced, Calif., early Wednesday morning because a nearby earthen dam, weakened by heavy rains, threatened to break. Overnight showers and thunderstorms poured more than four inches of rain into the 12-foot-high dam, which is located on a Calaveras County golf course near Valley Springs.
Record breaking rains have pummeled Northern California for the past month and meteorologists predict the wet weather could continue through mid-April.
Earlier in the week, two levee breaks in the Central Valley forced evacuations in residential neighborhoods. Residents near San Francisco also have been evacuated due to the threat of landslides from heavy rain, and the weather service issued a flash flood warning Wednesday.
Floodwaters in Merced breached a 30-foot section of levee along a creek, sending up to 18 inches of water pouring through a mobile home park. About 200 people from three different trailer parks were evacuated.
Several of these residents waited out the flood waters at the local high school where the American Red Cross Merced Mariposa Chapter had set up a shelter where hot meals were available. Another shelter was opened in Merced at the Atwater Community Center. Chapter members are working closely with County Mental Health and Public Health personnel to assist evacuees.
The Stanislaus County Chapter opened a shelter in Oakdale and the Tulare Kings Chapter set up a precautionary shelter in Orosi, Calif. Depending on the rain and river levels, evacuation may soon become mandatory in that area. The county is providing sand bags for residents and chapter volunteers are on hand with food and beverages for personnel doing the sand bagging.
Southern California has been hit hard by the rains as well. On Tuesday, two people were rescued from swollen creeks; a man’s pickup truck was swept off a road into a creek in Ventura County and a 12-year-old boy had fallen into a flood control channel in Los Angeles County's San Fernando Valley.
According to the National Weather Service, Sacramento had 5.29 inches of rain in March - 2.49 inches more than average. Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, San Rafael and Santa Rosa all broke rainy-day records last month.
The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave blood through the Red Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.
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