Nearly 200,000 Oroville, Calif., residents were ordered to evacuate from the area below the Lake Oroville Dam. After recent heavy rains, the overflowing dam experienced a hole in its main emergency spillway, threatening a major flood. After the leak was discovered, residents were given less than an hour to evacuate the area with their belongings.

At 770 ft high, the Lake Oroville Dam is the tallest U.S. dam. As the lake rose from rainfall, it surpassed its “full” level by more than 1 ft, causing the emergency spillways to be used for the first time in history.

After a few days, the lake levels began to fall and water stopped flowing over the emergency spillway. However, the spillway failure could still cause flash flooding miles downstream in Sacramento, Calif.

Read as the situation develops on CNN, NPR or The Huffington Post. 

Source: NPR, CNN, The Huffington Post