Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, Doctor RJ, Magnifico, annetteboardman and Man Oh Man. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) wader, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Interceptor7, BentLiberal, Oke and jlms qkw.
OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time.
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The crisis at Oroville Dam, explained
Vox
The Oroville Dam in northern California is the tallest dam in the United States, rising 770 feet high. It holds back a reservoir containing 1.1 trillion gallons of water, storing supplies for farms and cities around the state. It’s a crucial piece of infrastructure.
But now the aging dam has also become a serious threat.
On Sunday, authorities ordered more than 180,000 people around Oroville to evacuate their homes over concerns that the dam’s emergency spillway could fail and an onrush of water out of the reservoir could flood nearby towns and roads. While there is no sign that the dam itself will collapse, the situation was dangerous enough that Gov. Jerry Brown ordered an emergency response. And, while things had stabilized somewhat by Monday morning, the crisis isn’t over yet — and it’s a good reason to pay more attention to the shoddy shape of America’s dam infrastructure.