By Andrew Selsky
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined that a large earthquake — which is expected to occur again in the Pacific Northwest sooner or later — could cause the spillway gates of a dam in Oregon to buckle, resulting “in a potentially catastrophic flood.”
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Just last week, an earthquake early-warning system was launched in Oregon, operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. As in California, the system sends alerts to smartphones. Washington state is expected to join the ShakeAlert system, which operates on an array of seismic sensors, in May.
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“Structural analysis has shown a possibility of the spillway gates buckling under the force of a full reservoir during a large earthquake,” the Corps said in its statement. “Risk is high enough to warrant immediate actions.”
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The Corps said it continues to evaluate the seismic performance of the spillway and other components of the dam to determine whether long-term modifications or changes to operations will be necessary. That includes the potential for major reconstruction to address seismic risk.
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