Risk of failure of the Oroville dam

Sentinel-1 CSAR IW acquired on 05 February 2016 at 14:14:52 and 14:15:17 UTC
Sentinel-1 CSAR IW acquired on 11 February 2017 at 14:15:18 UTC
Author(s): Sentinel Vision team, VisioTerra, France - svp@visioterra.fr
Keyword(s): land, emergency, energy, drought, flooding, climate, dam, lake, California, USA
Fig. 1 - Image acquired on 5 February 2016, Lake Oroville over Oroville city
3D view
Fig. 2 - Image acquired on 11 February 2017
3D view

Completed in 1967, the Oroville dam is 225 m high and remains the highest in the USA.

After intensive rainfalls beginning 2017, a risk of failure of the dam forced the Californian authorities to give an evacuation order that affected 200 000 residents of Feather River communities.

The 13th of February 2017, when water was released to reduce the pressure on the dam, damaging the spillway and bringing much mud in the Feather river.

Fig. 3 - Image acquired on 05 February 2016, close up on the Oroville dam
2D view
Fig. 4 - Image acquired on 11 February 2017
2D view
The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agency or the European Union.
Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024, processed by VisioTerra.
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