Workers hurriedly tried to shore up a rural Utah dam after a 60-foot (18-meter) crack sent water pouring into a creek and endangering the 1,800 residents of a downstream town.
State and local leaders don’t think the Panguitch Lake Dam is in imminent danger of breaking open but have told residents to be prepared to evacuate if conditions worsen. Emergency management officials passed out a list of evacuation procedures to worried residents at a Wednesday evening town meeting meant to mitigate panic.
The earliest life lesson I took to heart was to never live below a dam.
The town where I grew up had a dam break shortly before I was born, and we lived uphill from the riverbed. A lot of people died. I grew up hearing them talk about it for years. It made an impression on me.
Every time I drive past mansions on eroding beach side cliffs… like wtf are you thinking?