[EAS] Oroville Dam Evacuation...oh that was close

[Mike McCarthy]

Have been watching the posts and am simply befuddled by the fact EAS was
not one of the tools to alert and move 180K people out of harms way.

I agree the NWS did it's part by starting the ball rolling through issuing
the FFW and verbalizing the increasingly dangerous threat. The proverbial
canary.

While Alex pointedly cites the area there isn't generally over warned, the
reality is that message flooding has created an epidemic of "There goes
the weather radio for something not related to here..."  And then you have
something like Joplin occur....

Never the less, I didn't start this thread to beat the horse known as
message flooding. Rather, to enter into a discussion of EAS's value when
it really matters and not put to use by the authorities in a scenario in
which it's use is specifically predicated.

Out of curiosity, I did find a couple photos from the LA Times which show
the emergency spillway this morning with no water flowing.

The photos are simply chilling....  Particularly the one showing about
150-200ft. of what appears now fully exposed spillway barrier wall with
all the down stream soil washed away to anchorage. It's plain to see the
urgency in getting the water level down. An undermining of that emergency
spillway wall would have been significantly bad.

It would be akin to seeing 4 upstream dams completely fail along the
Mississippi north of Cape Girardeau.

The Achilles's heal of anything is it's weakest link. In this case, it's
something designed to be the savior...the outlet. Was EAS left out because
those in power feel it's a weak link to the public?

Will the powers that are learn from this event....?

MM