You take them both and there you have…
1. Retreating water! That’s good:
2. Prado Dam could be on the verge of bursting. That’s bad:
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
725 AM PST FRI JAN 14 2005…DAM BREAK FLOOD WATCH FOR PRADO DAM BREAK
IN EFFECT UNTIL 630 PM PST FRIDAY
FOR ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-
RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE…THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SAN DIEGO HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR AREAS ALONG THE SANTA ANA RIVER BELOW THE PRADO DAM IN WESTERN RIVERSIDE COUNTY TO THE RIVER MOUTH IN ORANGE COUNTY.
A LEAK HAS DEVELOPED IN THE PRADO DAM.
THE SIZE OF THE LEAK HAS INCREASED OVERNIGHT BUT AN IMMINENT FAILURE OF THE DAM IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS IS ASSESSING THE STABILITY OF THE DAM AT THIS TIME AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE LATER THIS MORNING.
IN THE INTERIM THE RESERVOIR IS BEING EMPTIED AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.
As I understand it, if that dam breaks, the force of the rushing water will be so great that it will destroy everything in its path. That path, by the way, could be up to a mile wide.
This saga just keeps getting stranger and stranger.