California Dam crisis: Gurdwaras open doors to people in distress

Amardeep Bhattal

Yuba City (USA), February 13

It appeared to be a normal Sunday evening here with youngsters ensconced in their living rooms enjoying their games. Around 6 pm local time, law enforcement alarms about a possible catastrophe sent thousands of residents scurrying for cover to nearby towns. Within hours, Oroville, Gridley, Marysville and Yuba City resembled ghost towns as residents rushed to unknown destinations.

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Floods are not unknown in this part of America, home to more then 20,000 Punjabis. Previously, Yuba City experienced flooding in 1997 but the threat was not as serious. What pressed the panic buttons this time was the announcement about the impending danger to Oroville Dam, about 30 miles away, whose emergency spillway appeared to be fighting a losing battle.

With large chunks of earth being corroded at its base following unavoidable discharge, the spillway could have fallen apart any moment posing a direct threat to the 770-feet tall dam, the tallest in the USA. And had the dam failed, the results would have been catastrophic. Oroville city, and all nearby areas, including Gridley, Live Oak, Marysville, and Yuba City could have been wiped out within hours.

At the local gurdwaras, situated on Tierra Buenna road and Bogue Road, large congregations were preparing to celebrate ‘Sangrand’ on Sunday, but the three-hour evening programmes were abruptly halted midway to sound the warning. What followed was utter chaos as motorists rushed to gas stations before hitting the highways.

Some preferred to move towards Colusa on Highway 20 while others moved towards Highway 99 en route to Sacramento. At the local Sam's Club gas station, six queues of vehicles were a pointer to the emergency. It took me nearly an hour to reach my destination on Township Road, which otherwise is a 10-minute journey.

Around 6.30 pm, the locally broadcast Punjabi Radio, abruptly halted its ‘Shabad Kirtan’ programme to make an announcement about the emergency. The radio, which can be tuned in while driving, kept giving regular updates throughout the night and on Monday with listeners calling back to provide feedback.

Driving towards Roseville on Highway 99, we encountered countless vehicles, some with mobile homes in tow, moving towards Sacramento. All highways appeared choked. As darkness descended, vehicles on the highway from Marysville were akin to beads in a huge necklace. Dinner on Sunday night was merely a formality, as none had the appetite.

As the night wore on, reports from Oroville provided some comfort. Helicopter crews with night vision devices, were preparing to drop boulders and huge 1-tonne containers of rocks to reinforce the spillway. Every department is in a high state of emergency. In Sutter, and emergency operations room was in place. Temporary shelters have been opened at numerous places. Voluntary organisations have come forward with offers to take care of pets.

Gurdwaras located in Sacramento, Stockton, El Sobrante, Manteca, Delhi, and Bakersfield have opened their doors to accommodate people in distress. There have been reports of looting of stores in Oroville but the Sherif's Department appears to be in complete control now. Most stores like Walmart, Sam's Club, Lowe's and McDonald remained closed on Monday. The mail services too were affected.

The Yuba City Unified School District has ordered the closure of all schools till further notice. The local Appeal Democrat newspaper also suspended its publication today. Sunsweet Growers Inc, which employs a large number of Punjabis, has also suspended its operations till Tuesday.